International Seminar on ‘Ageing and Well-being: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
on Health and Social Care’

An international seminar on
‘Ageing and Well-being: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Health and Social
Care’ was held at Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC),
Bangalore, during December 17-18, 2015. The seminar was organised as part of
a joint research study with Indo-European Networking Research Project in
collaboration with the University of Groningen, The Netherlands; University
of Southampton, UK; Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum; and
Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore. This seminar brought
together scholars from India and Europe to discuss issues relating to ageing
and wellbeing in a cross-cultural perspective. Dr A Ravindra, Chairman,
Board of Governors, ISEC, presided over the inaugural function and Jane
Falkingham, Dean of the Faculty of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences
and Professor of Demography and International Social Policy, the University
of Southampton, UK, delivered the keynote address. The four themes covered
in the seminar were Demographic Change, Living Arrangement and Care Giving
Needs, Health Status of the Older Persons, Ageing: New Methodologies and
Data and Ageing, Gender and Social Security. A photo exhibition was also
arranged on the topic Ageing in Institutional Contexts: India and the
Netherlands. The valedictory address was given by Dr Leo van Wissen,
Director, National Institute of Demographic Research, The Hague.

The Global Green Growth
Institute (South Korea) has entrusted a project on ‘Development of Subsidy
Calculator Framework’ and ‘Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators’ to the ADRT
Centre of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC). In this
connection, a workshop on ‘Micro Irrigation Policy Implementation Roadmap
for Karnataka State’ was organised by the ADRTC in collaboration with the
Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) on November 5, 2015.

The purpose of the workshop
was to present the final reports by the partner institutions and to get
feedback. Dr A V Manjunatha of ISEC and Prof R S Deshpande made a
presentation on micro irrigation potential, investment requirement and
subsidy support calculator framework. Prof M G Chandrakanth from the
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, presented a report on the
Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. Mr Shilp Verma from International Water
Management Institute, Anand, presented a report on ‘Promoting micro
irrigation in Karnataka: Roadmap to success’.

Representatives from the
Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, Government of Karnataka, and the
ADRTC project team attended the workshop. Dr P Thippaiah from ISEC, Dr
Siddarthan Balasubramania and Dr Ajith Radhakrishnan from GGGI, New Delhi,
attended the workshop. The workshop was organised by Dr A V Manjunatha of
ADRTC.

National Seminar on ‘Women in Informal Sector – Issues and Challenges’

A national seminar on ‘Women
in Informal Sector – Issues and Challenges’ was held at ISEC during October
5-6, 2015. The seminar focused on identifying and overcoming the problems of
women as well as improving their working conditions. The objectives of the
seminar were: To understand Social Security and informal work To understand
factors responsible for women to work in informal sector To examine factors
affecting life of women in informal sector To understand women’s education
and participation in informal sector In total 24 papers were presented
covering several areas of women in informal sector.

Dissemination Workshop on ‘Pathways to Sanitation: Growing Challenges and
Access to Urban Poor – A Study of Bangalore City’

A dissemination workshop on
the study findings of the project, ‘Pathways to Sanitation: Growing
Challenges and Access to Urban Poor’ was held on September 30, 2015 at ISEC.
The inaugural session began with welcome address by Prof K S James, Acting
Director, ISEC. Dr A Ravindra, Chairman, Board of Governors, ISEC, chaired
the session. There were 24 participants in the workshop including the
Principal Secretary, Housing, Mr Shambu Dayal Meena, Government of
Karnataka; other senior officials from various State Government departments,
Karnataka Slum Development Board and Bangalore Municipal Corporation;
academicians, practitioners, representatives from the private sector, NGOs
and HSMI. Findings of the study were presented by Dr Manasi. The workshop
aimed to get inputs and suggestions for policy and future research focus and
aid the government agencies in understanding the ground truths and provide
insights to improve sanitation access to the poor.

The study aimed to address the
concerns like toilet access of the urban poor in Bengaluru city. One of the
outcomes of increased urbanization has been the growing number of slums and
squatter settlements. The pressure to address urban sanitation is enormous
to ensure dignity of the poor besides preventing environmental contamination
resulting in disease outbreaks. The findings were based on a survey of 20
slums across 8 zones. Highlights on interventions, toilet access, usage,
non-usage, and challenges for women were covered. Besides, documentation of
case studies across India and other countries to seek solutions for
Bengaluru was done. Various socioeconomic, cultural and technical reasons
and possible interventions in respect of open defecation in slums were
deliberated at the workshop. The study was funded by HUDCO’s Human
Settlements Research Institute, New Delhi. The workshop was coordinated by
Dr S Manasi of CRUA.

International Conference on 'Climate Change and Social Ecological Economical
Interface-Building: Modelling Approach to Exploring Potential Adaptation
Strategies for Bio-resource Conservation and Livelihood Development'

The Centre
for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR) in association with
Centre for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), University of Kassel,
Germany organised a two day international conference on ‘Climate Change
and Social Ecological Economical Interface-Building: Modelling Approach to
Exploring Potential Adaptation Strategies for Bio-resource Conservation and
Livelihood Development’from May 20-21, 2015 at ISEC.

Panel discussion on 'Understanding the Indian Political System: A Tribute to
Rajni Kothari (1928 -2015)'

Centre for Political
Institutions, Governance and Development (CPIGD) of ISEC organised A Panel
Discussion on Understanding the Indian Political System: A Tribute to Rajni
Kothari (1928 -2015) on 19th February 2015.

The
Panelists were Prof. Sandeep Shastri, National Convenor, Lokniti Network and
Pro-Vice Chancellor, Jain University, on "Understanding the Political
Experiment in New Democracies: Rajni Kothari's Contribution to the
Narrative"; Prof. Aparna Sundar, Faculty, Azim Premji University, on "The
Non-Party Political Process and Emancipatory Democracy in India Today: Some
reflections"; and Prof. Supriya RoyChowdhury, Professor, Institute for
Social and Economic Change, on "When Does a Text Become a Classic?".
Professor R.S.Deshpande, Former Director, ISEC chaired the session.

Founder’s Day Lecture / Prof. V.K.R.V Rao Memorial Lecture-11

"On Inclusive Growth:
Theory and Indian Experience since Early 1990s", the Founder’s Day
Lecture / Prof. V.K.R.V Rao Memorial Lecture-11 of the
Institute was delivered by Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat Chairman,
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi on 9th
February, 2015. Prof. G Thimmaiah, Chairman, Board of Governors, ISEC
presided over the function. The welcome address was delivered by Prof. M R
Narayana, Director I/c, ISEC.

Workshop on Socio-economic Assessment of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs)

As a part of the project on
‘Socio Economic Assessment of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) in India’
undertaken by the ADRT Centre, ISEC, a two-day workshop was organized in
collaboration with the Research and Information System (RIS) who are
executing the project on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and
Climate Change, Government of India, during December 11-12, 2014.

The main objective of the
workshop was to develop a framework for socio-economic assessment of LMOs in
the country. As such, the socio-economic issues and methodologies for
assessment of LMOs were deliberated at the workshop. Representatives from
RIS, five partner institutions, including the ISEC project team (Dr A V
Manjunatha and Dr Elumalai Kannan) and other experts participated in the
workshop. Prof P G Chengappa from ISEC, Dr Ranjini Warrier from the Ministry
of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and Mr Ravi Srinivas from RIS
attended the workshop.

Census Data Dissemination Workshop

A workshop to disseminate the
data released from the Census of India from time to time was held at the
Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, on December 1, 2014.
This was a collaborative workshop between Directorate of Census Operations,
Karnataka, and ISEC on the advice of the Office of the Registrar-General of
India and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of
India, with funding from UNDP, Delhi. The workshop aimed at encouraging use
of census data among young scholars and researchers.

The inaugural session was
chaired by Prof. G Thimmaiah, Chairperson, Board of Governors, ISEC, and
Prof. G Giridhar, formerly with UNFPA, delivered the keynote address. Mr A K
Samal from the Office of the Registrar-General of India and Census
Commissioner, explained the purpose of the seminar and shared the
information on the census data released so far. Prof. Binay Kumar Pattnaik,
the then Director of ISEC, welcomed the delegates. Sri N Manjini, Joint
Director, Directorate of Census Operations, Karnataka, delivered the vote of
thanks. Altogether, there were 200 participants from various walks of life,
including researchers, senior bureaucrats, government officials and young
scholars and students.

The papers presented by young
scholars and researchers were evaluated by a team consisting of Prof. G
Giridhar, Prof. Padma Sarangapani and Prof. K N M Raju. Three best papers
were selected for awards of ` 50,000, ` 40,000 and ` 30,000 each. The
valedictory session was chaired by Dr H Sashidhar. Prof. K S James of ISEC
proposed the vote of thanks.

International Seminar on Green Economy and Sustainable Development

An International Seminar on
‘Green Economy and Sustainable Development’ was held at the Institute for
Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, during November 6-7, 2014 in
collaboration with the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), Chengdu,
China, and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi.
The two-day seminar broadly focused on issues related to inclusive green
growth, institutional innovations, environmental policy and implications for
employment generation and poverty reduction in India and China. Many
academicians, government officials, international policy advisors, strategic
analysts and research scholars attended the seminar.

The discussion in the seminar
was organised under six technical sessions: institutional aspects of
sustainable development; trade, environment and sustainable development;
employment, poverty and sustainable development; political economy and
environmental governance; eco-system services; and environmental
degradation. A noted political scientist and China specialist Professor
Manoranjan Mohanty delivered the inaugural address, while a well-known
energy specialist Dr. Sudha Mahalingam presented the keynote address. Former
Ambassador Saurabh Kumar delivered the valedictory address. Nineteen papers
were presented in the technical sessions, which were chaired by eminent
researchers and policy advisors.

Workshop on National Innovation Survey Report 2014

A brain-storming workshop on
National Innovation Survey Report, 2014 was organized by the Centre for
Economic Studies and Policy on November 5, 2014. The workshop was sponsored
by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. The objective of the
workshop was to disseminate the methodology and findings of the National
Innovation Survey Report and obtain feedback of key stakeholders. Industry
representatives, academicians from reputed institutions like Indian
Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Management and Central Food
Technological Research Institute, representatives from industry/ trade
associations, research scholars and government representatives were invited
to participate. The report presentation by Dr Praveen Arora, Head, NSTMIS,
Department of Science and Technology, was followed by informed discussion.
The workshop was inaugurated by Prof Binay Kumar Pattnaik, the then Director
of ISEC, and coordinated by Prof K Gayithri of CESP.

International Seminar on 'Global Issues of Population, Development and
Environment'

A Two-Day International
Seminar on 'Global Issues of Population, Development and Environment' was
organised by Population Research Centre, ISEC on October 27-28, 2014. The
seminar focused on themes related to Population growth, economic and
infrastructure development and consequences thereof on Environment, as felt
across the world in the 21st century.

Aims and Objectives of the
Seminar were: a) to examine the dynamics of population growth and its impact
on environment across the continents of the world; b) to look at the nexus
between population, poverty, development and environment with a view to
assessing various environmental and other impacts of industrialization,
urbanization and infrastructure development; c) to examine demographic
change and its adverse impact on environment; d) to trace the level of
environmental degradation as seen through the physical characteristics of a
region; e) and to formulate policy prescriptions and recommendations to take
appropriate measures to mitigate environmental decay for sustainable
development and to conserve environment for the generations to come.

Dr. C.M. Lakshmana,
Associate Professor, PRC, ISEC, & Prof. K.S. James Head, Population Research
Centre, ISEC were the coordinators of the seminar.

National Seminar On Women Empowerment - A Strategy for Development

A National
Seminar On Women Empowerment - A Strategy for Development was organized by
Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies (CWGS), Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC) In collaboration with the Indian Council of Social
Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi on 13-14th October, 2014.

The main focus of the seminar
were: a) to examine the women’s participation in household decision-making
and freedom of movement; b) to address the issue of women’s education and
work; c) to highlight the inter linkages between women’s control over
spousal earnings and violence against women; d) to suggest remedial
measures to improve women’s status.

Workshop on District Human Development Report of Chikkballapura Zilla
Panchayat

The Workshop on District Human
Development Report - Chikkaballapur was organised on September 20, 2014 at
Zilla Panchayat, Chikkaballapur. The main objective of the workshop was to
disseminate the information on the importance of measuring human
development. Deliberations in the workshop centred around various
parameters, indicators adopted for measuring human development, the regional
variations/problems in the human development issues, the selection of four
small area studies etc. The participants included the President and members
of Zilla Panchayat, district level officials, the citizens, media persons,
members of non-governmental organisations and the students of Degree
Colleges. Dr. M Devendra Babu, ISEC coordinated the workshop.

Workshop on Impact Evaluation of Bhoochetana Programme in Karnataka

The project inception workshop
on ‘Impact Evaluation of Bhoochetana Program in Karnataka’ was organised at
ISEC on September 17, 2014. The inception workshop was organised with the
purpose of seeking suggestions from various stakeholders, subject experts
and funding agency on the proposed project activities. More specifically, it
was expected to get useful feedback on conceptualisation of Bhoochetana
technology components, sampling method, study area, reference crops and
impact indicators. The workshop was attended by 52 participants comprising
eminent scientists from the University of Agricultural Sciences (Bangalore,
Dharwad, Raichur), University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences,
Shimoga, College of Horticulture, Kolar, senior officers from the Department
of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, ICRISAT scientists and
socio-economists from ISEC.

This project is funded by the
ICRISAT, Hyderabad and is carried out by Dr. Elumalai Kannan and Dr. Ramappa
K B, Associate Professors at the Agricultural Development and Rural
Transformation Centre (ADRTC) of the Institute.

Dissemination Seminar of the Report on ‘The Status of Elderly in Odisha’

A one-day Dissemination
Seminar of the Report on ‘The Status of Elderly in Odisha’ was held in
collaboration with UNFPA state office, Bhubaneswar, on September 2, 2014.
The seminar was inaugurated by Minister for Women and Child Development,
Government of Odisha. There were three technical sessions in the final
dissemination on the various aspects of the report. Around 150
representatives of the government, NGOs, civil society organizations and
academic staff participated in the seminar. The seminar was coordinated by
Dr T N Bhat, Assistant Professor, PRC, ISEC.

"Two
Ides of India", Fifth Raj Bhavan Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao Memorial Lecture was
delivered by Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and Chief Executive, Centre
for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi s on Thursday, 29th May 2014 at 6:00
p.m. at Raj Bhavan Banquet Hall. His Excellency, Dr. Hans Raj Bhardwaj,
Governor of Karnataka and President of ISEC Society presided over the
function. The welcome address was delivered by Prof. G Thimmaiah, Chairman,
Board of Governors, ISEC and Vote of Thanks was delivered by Prof. Binay Kumar Pattnaik, Director,
ISEC.

Founder’s Day Lecture / Prof. V.K.R.V Rao Memorial Lecture-10

"The
Importance of being Rurban: Tracking Modernity in a Traditional Society",
the Founder’s Day Lecture / Prof. V.K.R.V Rao Memorial Lecture-10 of the
Institute was delivered by Professor Dipankar Gupta,
Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Shiv Nadar University (Formerly at JNU),
on 22nd May 2014 in the Auditorium of the Institute. His Excellency the
Governor of Karnataka Shri Hans Raj Bharadwaj was the Chief Guest and Prof.
G Thimmaiah, Chairman, Board of Governors, ISEC presided over the function.
The welcome address was delivered by Prof. Binay Kumar Pattnaik, Director,
ISEC.

Four-day Workshop on Impact Evaluation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY):
An Interactive Session with the State Government Representatives

As a part
of 'Impact Evaluation Study of RKVY' undertaken by Agricultural Development
and Rural Transformation Centre of Institute for Social and Economic Change,
a workshop was organized during February10-13, 2014, at its seminar hall.
All the 28 States and 7 Union Territories were invited well in advance to
participate in the workshop. The workshop had representation from 16 states
and two Union territories.

The broad
agenda of the workshop was to provide a platform to RKVY nodal agencies to
express their views and opinions about RKVY implementation, problems faced
while implementing and suggestions to improve the programme. This would
enable the study team to offer comprehensive policy changes to be
incorporated for effective implementation of RKVY during 12th Five-Year
Plan. Dr Parmod Kumar and Dr A V Manjunatha are leader and co-leader of the
project, respectively, and the remaining ADRTC faculty are the project team.

Group Monitoring Workshop

Monitoring
Workshop (GMW). The ISEC has hosted GMW for 2014 during January 29-31, 2014,
which was convened by Dr Sunil Nautiyal, Professor at Centre for Ecological
Economics and Natural Resources. inaugurated by Prof G Thimmaiah, Chairman,
Board of Governors, ISEC, and the ISEC Director, Prof Binay Kumar Pattnaik,
welcomed the participants to the workshop. Dr Sunil K Agarwal, Principal
Scientific Officer, and Dr Sobhana Bhaskaran, Scientist E at SEED Division
of DST, described the aims and objectives of the division during the
inaugural session. The response of researchers from many Institutions in
India to GMW 2014 was very encouraging. Sixty participants from various
states of the country attended the GMW and 32 presentations were made on
January 29 and 30 on various themes under TSP and SCSP schemes. The
valedictory session was held at ISEC on January 31 with closing remarks of
expert committee members of GMW, officials of SEED Division, DST and the
convener of the workshop.

The Centre
for Human Resource Development of ISEC along with the RV Education
Consortium, Bangalore, organised a workshop on 'What Teachers Do' with Prof
Eleanor Duckworth, Retired Professor of the Harvard Graduate School of
Education, Massachusetts, USA, on December 30, 2013. During the workshop Dr
Duckworth conducted a demonstration of teaching with a group of ve children
(9-10 years old) from a Bangalore school. Dr Duckworth introduced her
approach to teaching which was inuenced by her work with Jean Piaget. The
method was constructivist inquiry and involved placing children in a
problem-solving situation, with the teacher being in the role of a
facilitator to support their epistemic inquiry and construction of
knowledge.

The
workshop was followed by a panel discussion involving Gopal Krishnamurthy on
the theme, 'Why teachers do what they do'. Nearly 100 participants focused
on the issue of the overwhelming inuence of the examination system and the
impulse to evaluate.

Seminar on 'Migration and Development'

As part of
the research project, 'Building Knowledge Base on Ageing in India: Increased
Awareness, Access and Quality of Elderly Services', undertaken by ISEC's PRC
and Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, a discussion on the research
study 'Migration and Development' was held at ISEC on December 2, 2013.
Sessions covered various issues including Governance, Legislation, Diaspora
networks, Female mobility in the context of emigration from various Indian
states to other countries.

Experts on
ageing issues from all over India participated in the seminar in which
papers were presented by Dr S Krishna Kumar of the Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs (MOIA); Dr S Irudaya Rajan of CDS, Trivandrum; Dr R B Bhagat,
IIPS, Mumbai; Dr Rupa Chanda, IIM, Bangalore; Dr TLS Bhaskar, India Centre
for Migration, New Delhi; and Mr Zakir Hussain, Indian Council of World
Affairs, New Delhi. The seminar was organised with the support of the
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) through Research Unit on
International Migration.

Seminar on 'Financing Development: State and the Market'

The Centre
for Economic Studies and Policy (CESP) of ISEC organised a seminar on
'Economy of Tomorrow – Financing Development: State and the Market' on
November 27-28, 2013. The seminar was organized in collaboration with
Fridrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) of New Delhi. Altogether 10 papers were
presented on varied themes focusing on the role of state and the market in
the development process in the Indian context. Dr Felix Schmidt, Resident
Representative of FES, New Delhi, gave an overview of the seminar. The
inaugural address was given by Sri B K Bhattacharya, former Chief Secretary,
Government of Karnataka. Prof G Thimmaiah, Chairman of the Board of
Governors, ISEC, gave the presidential address. The seminar made an attempt
to bring together the academic inputs and eld insights by getting senior
government ofcers to participate in the discussion as discussants. The
program was coordinated by Dr K Gayithri and Dr K V Raju.

International Seminar on 'Opening-up, Cooperation and Economic Growth'

As
per the Memorandum of Understanding between the Sichuan Academy of Social
Sciences (SASS), Chengdu, China, and the Institute for Social and Economic
Change (ISEC), Bangalore, SASS hosted the second joint seminar at Chengdu,
China, during October 25-26, 2013. The seminar, on the broader theme
'Opening-up, Cooperation and Economic Growth', was held along with the 14th
Western China International Fair-2013 sponsored by the Chinese Academy of
International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC) and the 21st Century
China-India Centre for Culture and Communication (21st CICCC). A team of ten
faculty members from ISEC, including Prof B K Pattnaik, Director, Prof
Manohar Yadav, Prof Parmod Kumar, Dr M J Bhende, Dr K Gayithri, Dr Elumalai
Kannan, Dr Marchang Reimeingam, Dr Sobin George, Dr Malini and Dr Barun Deb
Pal participated in the seminar. Dr Elumalai Kannan coordinated the seminar
from the ISEC side. The seminar consisted of nine sessions including the
inaugural session. In the opening remarks, various experts emphasised the
increasing role of China and India in the growth of the world economy and
called for strengthening the economic and cultural cooperation between these
two countries. Seven theme presentations were made in the inaugural session
on various aspects of India- China cooperation. These presentations broadly
covered economic and trade relations, Bangladesh- China-India-Myanmar (BCIM)
economic corridor, Karnataka and its investment policies , communication and
trust, competition and development, and 'southern silk road' for culture
corridor.

In the
technical sessions, 23 papers were presented on different issues related to
India and China relations. Besides paper presentations, ISEC faculty members
participated as session Chairmen/Hosts and discussants/commentators in the
seminar.

Workshop on 'Food and Nutrition Security: Accomplishments and Challenges'

A
workshop on 'Food and Nutrition Security: Accomplishments and Challenges'
was organised at ISEC in association with the Indian Society of Agricultural
Economics (ISAE), Mumbai, during September 19-20, 2013. The workshop aimed
to upgrade the analytical skills of young researchers working in the eld of
agricultural economics and to improve the summary papers presented in the
2012 Annual Conference of the ISAE held at Banaras Hindu University (BHU),
Varanasi. Many eminent agricultural economists, including Professors V M Rao,
R S Deshpande, C Ramasamy, P G Chengappa and M G Chandrakanth, had
participated in the seminar and delivered lectures on the methodological
issues related to analysis of food and nutrition security.

ISEC
Director Professor Binay Kumar Pattnaik addressed the participants on the
first day. Recent developments in research methodology and analytical tools
were covered on the rst day. On the second day, a critical review of the
summary papers provided by the subject experts were shared with the invited
participants for revision and subsequent submission for possible publication
in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics. The interactive session
provided opportunity for the paper writers to discuss their papers with
subject experts directly and clarify the conceptual and methodological
issues. The seminar was organised by Dr Elumalai Kannan, ISEC.

Seminar on 'Development Trends in Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture'

A Seminar
on 'Development Trends in Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture' was jointly
organised by ISEC and P N Agricultural Science Foundation (PNASF) on August
8, 2013. The seminar attempted to explore the development trends in urban
and peri-urban agriculture in the Indian context. Thirteen research papers
were presented in the seminar focusing on different issues related to
development of UPA. These papers dealt with issues related to availability
of urban land for cultivation and security of land tenure for urban poor.
Increasing urbanization, ow of private investment and the need for
multi-stakeholder approach for development of UPA also formed crucial
themes. The discussions also encompassed issues related to use of urban
waste water for agricultural purpose and disappearance of small water bodies
due to encroachment. Importance of roof-top gardening, i t s feasibility and
growing horticultural crops for household consumption were adequately
discussed. The seminar was organised by Dr Elumalai Kannan of ISEC, and Dr
Prem Nath, former Additional Director-General of FAO and Chairman, PNASF.

German Development Cooperation (GIZ) promotional workshop

As part of
promotional activities of German Development Cooperation (GIZ), a workshop
was jointly organized by GIZ, India, and ISEC on July 26, 2013 at ISEC. The
purpose was to meet the potential institutions/partners in Karnataka in
order to get an understanding of their academic and research activities and
give them insight into GIZ collaborative options and programmes. There were
20 participants representing various institutes: the University of
Agricultural Sciences, Fairclimate Network, Digital Green, Initiatives for
Development Foundation, Centre for Sustainable Development, International
Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture, etc. The participants spoke about
their research activities and interests. GIZ representatives from India and
Germany gave presentations. The workshop, chaired by Prof R S Deshpande, was
organised by Dr A V Manjunatha, ADRTC.

An
interactive session on impact evaluation study of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana (RKVY) was organized on July 16, 2013 at ISEC, Bangalore. The
Director of ISEC, Professor R S Deshpande, delivered the welcome address.
Shri E K Majhi, Joint Secretary (RKVY), Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation (DAC), Government of India (GoI), spoke on RKVY. Prof Parmod
Kumar, Head, ADRTC, gave an introduction to the RKVY impact evaluation
study. On behalf of the RKVY team at ISEC, Dr A V Manjunatha presented the
preliminary ndings about allocation and expenditure of RKVY projects/programmes
by nature and status of the projects across regions in India in general, and
in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in particular. Data and methodological issues,
output and outcome of the projects were also discussed. This interactive
session ended with feedback from the representatives from DAC (GOI),
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The RKVY interactive session was organised by Prof
Parmod Kumar and Dr A V Manjunatha of ADRTC.

The welcome address was
delivered by Prof. R S Deshpande, Director, ISEC, and the introductory
session was chaired by Prof. G Thimmaiah, Chairman, ISEC Board of
Governors. The keynote address was given by Shri V Parameswaran, Deputy
Director-General, Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation, New Delhi. The seminar was coordinated by
Dr. M Balasubramanian.

National Seminar on Population, Development and Environment

A National Seminar on
"Population, Development and Environment was organised at ISEC on April
23, 2013. The focus of the seminar is to examine the complex issues of
Population, Development and Environment with a view to address policy
issues and to increase awareness among decision makers, professionals, and
academics to conserve natural resources for sustainable development and
healthy growth of the society. The seminar would also try to sensitize
researchers and policy makers about the priority areas from the
perspective of people’s changing needs and aspirations.

Workshop on Urbanisation and Migration in Transnational India: Work and
Family Life from a Welfare Perspective

The Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC), Swedish South Asian Studies Network (SASNET), the
Nordic Centre in India (NCI) and Lund University jointly organised an
explorative workshop "Urbanisation and Migration in Transnational India:
Work and Family Life from a Welfare Perspective" at ISEC during March 5-7,
2013. Prof. Surinder S Jodhka from Jawaharlal Nehru University and
Visiting Professor at Lund University, Sweden, delivered the Keynote
address.

The objective of the
workshop was to lay the groundwork for research cooperation between Nordic
and Indian researchers, while providing young scholars in both the
Countries an opportunity to establish contacts with prominent researchers
in the field. The Workshop was coordinated by Prof. G K Karanth.

Special Dissemination Exercise of the Reserve Bank of India

Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra,
Adviser-in-Charge, Monetary Policy Department, Reserve Bank of India,
Mumbai visited ISEC with other officials from RBI, Mumbai, on March 25,
2013. A presentation was made on "Monetary Policy Formulation and its
Implications for the Indian Economy". This programme was coordinated by
Prof. Meenakshi Rajeev.

Workshop on Input-Output Analysis

A Workshop on "Input-Output
Analysis" was organised at ISEC during March 21-24, 2013. Sri Devendra
Pratap from NCAER, New Delhi, gave a series of lectures on Input-Output
theory and empirical methods concerning input output tables. Hands-on
exercises were carried out thereafter using the past and most recent
Input-Output tabkes, The workshop was organised by Prof. Meenakshi Rajeev.

Seminar on Status of Elderly in Select States of India

A Seminar on "Status of
Elderly in India" was organised at ISEC on February 6, 2013. The main
objective of the seminar was to disseminate survey findings from the study
"Building Knowledge Base on Ageing in India". The survey was conducted to
gather information on the status of the elderly in seven states of India.

Panel Discussion on Gender, Law and Empowerment

A Panel discussion on
"Gender, Law and Empowerment" was organised on January 10, 2013 at ISEC.
Prof G S Elizabeth, faculty member, National Law School of India
University, Bangalore, Shri Arvind Narain, Alternative Law Forum,
Bangalore, Dr. Etienne Rassendren, faculty member, St Joseph's College
Bangalore and Ms Madhu, Vimochana, Bangalore were the panelists. Prof.
Supriya RoyChowdhury organised and moderated the panel discussion.

2nd Conference of the Indian Health Economics and Policy Association (IHEPA)
on ‘Better Health Access: The Rough Road Ahead’

The
Second Conference of the IHEPA on ‘Better Health Access: The Rough Road
Ahead’ was held at ISEC on December 20-21, 2012. The conference was
organised jointly by IHEPA, ISEC, and Azim Premji University, Bangalore.
Prof R S Deshpande, Director of ISEC, welcomed and Mr Selvaraju provided
an over view of the conference theme. The conference was inaugurated by Dr
Prabhudev, Chairman of the Karnataka Health Systems Commission, and Prof K
R S Murthy, Chairman of the BoG of ISEC, presided over the inaugural
function. Dr H Sudarshan, Chairman of the Karuna Trust, Bangalore,
delivered the keynote address, and Dr Anurag Behar, Vice-Chancellor of
Azim Premji University, gave a special address. Prof Ravindra Dholakia,
IIM, Ahmedabad, and President of IHEPA, delivered the presidential
address.

The conference discussed 52
research papers from across the country and abroad. Over 100 delegates
attended the conference. Selected papers would be available in an edited
volume. The conference concluded with valedictory function on December 21,
2012. The conference was coordinated by Dr T N Bhat, Assistant Professor,
PRC, ISEC.

Professor K R S Murthy,
Chairman, Board of Governors, ISEC, presided over the function. Besides
the Institute’s faculty, staff and students, the ISEC founder-members,
Members of Board of Governors, faculty from sister institutions and other
invitees participated in the function.

Workshop on ‘Indic Economic Thought in Pursuit of Happiness and
Sustainable Development: Its Relevance and Applications

A one-day workshop on ‘Indic
Economic Thought in Pursuit of Happiness and Sustainable Development: Its
Relevance and Applications’ was organised on November 9, 2012, by CEENR in
association with Development Foundation, Bangalore. In the backdrop of
India’s longstanding civilizational existence and experience, there is a
growing need to explore the ancient Indian knowledge base and wisdom to
seek alternative solutions to contemporary development issues. In this
context, understanding the civilizational attributes which facilitated
ancient India to emerge and remain as a leading economy of the world as
documented by Paul Bairoch and Angus Maddison becomes imperative. Such an
enquiry demands that we look into certain fundamental issues related to
the Indian approach towards life and its purpose, the source and
conception of happiness, the mode, method and meaning of interaction with
nature. Lastly, it would also be imperative for us to examine the
relevance and applications of Indic ideas, thoughts and concepts in the
present postmodern world. The workshop highlighted the spatial dynamics
and mutual interactions between certain essential domains of human
enterprise involving economics, development and human happiness: the
issues discussed included Salient Features of Ancient Indian Economic
Thought; Indic Concept of Happiness; Indic Approach to Development and its
Sustainability; Mutual Exclusivity/ Inclusivity of Developmental
Economics; Sustainability and Pursuit of Happiness in Indic and Present
Paradigm; Applications of Indic Economic Thought in the Crisis-ridden
World. Dr Sunil Nautiyal of CEENR coordinated the workshop.

Meeting of Working Group on Terms of Trade between the Agricultural and
Non-Agricultural Sectors

The second meeting of the
Working Group on Terms of Trade between the Agricultural and
Non-Agricultural Sectors was held on September 15, 2012, at the Institute
for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, under the chairmanship of Prof
S Mahendra Dev. The Chairman averred that the TOT debate started with
Kahlon Committee on Task Force that had the base year of 1981-82. There is
a need for making changes in the existing methodology of calculating terms
of trade between agriculture and non-agricultural sectors in the
background of tremendous changes that have taken place within agriculture
and in the economy. He emphasized that since the share of services is
increasing in gross domestic product, there is a need to incorporate
services in commodity composition of inter-sectoral ‘terms of trade’
index. The states’ share in composition of GDP is also changing and that
needs to be taken into account. Share of rabi and khariff should also be
factored in while calculating TOT.

The chairperson in his
concluding remarks stressed that farmers’ income coming from
nonagriculture is not being taken care of presently. He mentioned that
suggestions for including agriculture income and non-agriculture income,
consumption (self) and services would prove useful for finalizing the
methodology on TOT. He supported the idea of multiple TOTs. He hoped that
an ideal ‘terms of trade’ methodology would be developed in the end by
this committee.

Prof L S Venkataramanan Lecture

The Eleventh L S
Venkataramanan Memorial Lecture was delivered by Prof Vinod Vyasulu, the
Research Advisor for the Indian Institute for Human Settlements,
Bangalore, on ‘Agriculture in India’s 21st Century’ on September 4, 2012.
Prof Vyasulu’s lecture covered a wide range of issues and challenges
facing the Indian agriculture.

Prelude Conference on ‘Urban Governance (Administration), Development and
Service Delivery’

Institute for Social and
Economic Change (ISEC) organised a joint Seminar on “Economic Growth,
Trade and Poverty” with Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), Chengdu,
Sichuan, China during 6-7 December 2012 at ISEC, Bangalore. The seminar
was financially supported by the Indian Council of Social Science
Research ICSSR), New Delhi. The seminar discussed the economic issues
affecting growth in India and China, and more specifically how these two
countries have experienced relatively high economic growth over time,
issues related to trade reforms and their implications for poverty
reduction. The seminar was coordinated by Dr. Elumalai Kannan.

Seminar on Growth and Development of Agriculture in Karnataka: Prospects
and Strategies

ADRTC
organized one day seminar on ‘Growth and Development of Agriculture in
Karnataka: Prospects and Strategies’ on June 7, 2012. On the following
theme

Growth and development of
agricultural sector in Karnataka.

Diversification of
agriculture in Karnataka (within and agriculture to non-agricultural
sectors), and

Institutional Change and
Public Policy of Agriculture in Karnataka.

The seminar was a modest
attempt to bring the scholars, academia and policy makers of the state
together to discuss the issues of development of agriculture in
Karnataka for the future strategies and policy formulation. The
discourse of the seminar made an improved understanding of the potential
and strategies in agriculture and probed the critical research gaps,
which require to be plugged for sustainable development of the sector. A
total of 10 papers were presented – 3 papers in the first subtheme, 3 in
the second sub-theme and 4 in the third sub-theme. In addition, there
was an introductory session chaired by the Chairman, ISEC Board of
Governors, Prof KRS Murthy, and keynote address by Prof Ramesh Chand,
Director NCAP, New Delhi. Among those who presented papers were Prof N
Nagaraj from ICRISAT; Prof Vijaya Kumar, UAS Dharwad; Prof Chengappa,
ICAR Chair Professor, ISEC; Dr L B Hugar, UAS, Raichur; Prof D S Devraj,
IDS, Mysore; in addition to ADRTC faculty, Prof Parmod Kumar and Dr
Elumalai Kannan. The collected papers shall soon be published in an
edited volume.

National Workshop on Inclusive Agricultural Growth and Input Subsidies

The
workshop was organised as a part of the project ‘Policy and
Institutional Options for Inclusive Agricultural Growth’ on March 16,
2012 sponsored by the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Government of India,
New Delhi. The workshop intended to discuss the results of the study and
get feedback from various experts for further research in this area.
About 50 participants attended the workshop and they had lively
discussions on the conceptual issues related to inclusive agricultural
growth, input subsidies, public investment and role of Grama Panchayats
in effective reach of input subsidies to the farmers. Prof Ramesh Chand,
Director, NCAP delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session,
which was chaired by the Prof R S Deshpande, Director, ISEC. The
research team comprising Prof R S Deshpande, Dr Elumalai Kannan, Ms
Sujata Sundaram and Dr Sanjeev D Kenchaigol presented the study results.
The experts participated in the workshop included Prof V M Rao, Prof M V
Nadkarni, Prof S Bisaliah, Prof P G Chengappa and Prof Nagaraj.

A
Two-day International Conference ‘Migration, Informal Work and Urban
Poverty: Inter-disciplinary Explorations’ was organised on March 22-23,
2012, at ISEC. The Conference was organised as a part of the project
‘Migration, Informal Work and Welfare: A Policy Perspective on Urban
Deprivation in Karnataka’s Cities’ funded by the Government of Karnataka.
Prof Supriya RoyChowdhury and Prof K S James coordinated the conference.
Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Planning, Government
of Karnataka, inaugurated the conference. The keynote addresses were
delivered by Prof Supriya RoyChowdhury of ISEC and Prof Amitabh Kundu,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, on Migration Discourse and Poverty
Syndrome. The session was chaired by Prof K R S Murthy, Chairman, ISEC Board
of Governors. Other key speakers included Prof Satish Deshpande, Delhi
School of Economics; Prof Ravi Srivastava, CSRD, Jawaharlal Nehru
University; Prof Nandini Gooptu, Oxford University; and Prof Anirudh
Krishna, Duke University.

Seminar
on Citizenship, the State and Expanding the Boundaries of Democracy

The Centre for Political
Institutions, Governance and Development of the Institute organised a
one-day seminar on Citizenship, the State and Expanding the Boundaries of
Democracy on December, 28, 2011. The main theme of the workshop was
citizenship. The main ideas that informed the seminar are: Citizenship is
often viewed as legal citizenship. While citizenship within a nation-state
finds its basis in legality, the concept is also crucially linked to larger
society. Social citizenship is far more complex and is related to the
phenomenon of social hierarchies and social difference. The latter two have
a crucial bearing on citizenship in any democracy. In this context, the
major debates on citizenship have been around broadening the citizenship
from formallegal one to a broader and more expansive social citizenship.
Scholars such as Naila Kabeer call it inclusive citizenship, in the sense
that the expansive concept specifically makes an attempt to theorize and
describe the inclusion in the citizenship of those who are outside its
substantive purview; this may often be owing to social, economic or
political marginalisation. In this context, the question of juxtaposing the
formal legal concept with the issues of class, gender, caste and ethnicity
have been prominent. The role of civil society too has been both to expand
the scope of citizenship and broaden the arena of democracy.

Keeping this context in
background, this seminar dealt with the relationship between the state and
citizenship, the ways of defining citizenship, class and citizenship, gender
and citizenship, expanding rights as a means of expanding citizenship and
the role of civil society in both expanding citizenship and broadening
democracy. The seminar debated some of these issues in the backdrop of
evolving standard formats and identities for citizenship and engaged in a
broad ranging participation on how we elaborate and understand citizenship
in today’s India. The main speakers in the seminar were Professor Rowena
Robinson from IIT, Bombay, Mumbai, Professor Arun Kumar Patnaik, from
University of Hyderabad, Dr R Ramakumar, from TISS, Mumbai, Dr Manohar S
Yadav, ISEC, and Dr V Anil Kumar, ISEC. Professor Rowena Robinson spoke on
minorities and citizenship, Professor Arun Kumar Patnaik spoke on citzenship,
subject and development, Dr Ramakumar spoke on Adhar (UIDAI) and
citizenship, Dr Manohar S Yadav spoke on Dalits and citizenship and Dr V
Anil Kumar spoke on civil society and citizenship. The seminar involved
intense debates on the multi-dimensional concept of citizenship and its
significance in contemporary Indian democracy and society.

Annual Meeting of the Directors of the ICSSR Research Institutes

The
Annual Meeting of Directors of ICSSR Research Institutes was successfully
held in the Institute during December 22-23, 2011. Prof R S Deshpande,
Director, welcomed the members. Prof KRS Murthy, Chairman, Board of
Governors, was the Chief Guest. Prof S K Thorat, Chairperson, ICSSR,
provided opening remarks. The Directors/representatives of ICSSR
institutions made presentations regarding their academic achievements during
the current year. The recommendations/observations of Government of India’s
Review Committee Report pertaining to ICSSR Research Institutions were
discussed. A follow-up one-day colloquium discussed issues in Social Science
Research as decided in the last meeting of the Directors held at Lucknow.
The meeting discussed the 12th Five-Year Plan Proposal relating to Research
Institutes which was presented by ICSSR to MHRD. The meet also discussed
utilisation of funds by research institutes. As part of the meet, a cultural
programme was organised in the Institute.

Mid-Term Appraisal of the 11th Five Year Plan of Karnataka

A workshop on ‘Mid-term
Appraisal of the 11th Five-year Plan of Karnataka’ was organised on November
17, 2011 at ISEC. Findings of two studies that were undertaken, ‘Study of
monitorable indicators in Karnataka’ and ‘Performance of flagship programmes
in Karnataka’ at the instance of Planning Commission, Government of India,
were discussed at the workshop. There were two sessions in the workshop: the
first was chaired by Prof Deshpande, Director, ISEC. Mr Basith, Senior
Director, Planning Department, Government of Karnataka spoke about the
study. Prof Madheswaran, Project Coordinator, ISEC, spoke about the
workshop. Prof Mihir Rakshit, eminent economist and Director, Monetary
Research Project, ICRA Ltd., Kolkata, presented the inaugural address
followed by a brief discussion. The session ended with a vote of thanks by
Dr K Gayithri.

The second session was chaired
by Mr Basith, Senior Director, Planning Department, Government of Karnataka.
The session included presentations by Prof Parmod Kumar, Prof S Madheswaran,
Prof M D Usha Devi, Ms B P Vani, Prof K S James and Dr K Gayithri on both
the studies. This was followed by a fruitful discussion. Participants
included officers from Planning and line departments, Government of
Karnataka, and ISEC faculty and students. The studies were coordinated by
Prof S Madheswaran and Dr K Gayithri.

The
International Humboldt Kolleg (IHK) titled “Adaptive
Management of Ecosystems: The Knowledge Systems of Societies for Adaptation
and Mitigation of impacts of Climate Change” with
support from the esteemed Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was organized at
ISEC from 19th -21st October 2011. The IHK was convened
by Dr Sunil Nautiyal (Humboldt Fellow) who is currently an Associate
Professor at Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources at ISEC.
This prestigious event was organized to commemorate the establishment of 60th
Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations and both the countries are celebrating
with the theme "Germany and India - Infinite Opportunities".

IHK 2011 at ISEC was
inaugurated by His Excellency, Dr. Hans Raj Bhardwaj, Governor of Karnataka
and Hon’ble Chief Minister of the state Shri D.V. Sadananda Gawda. His
Excellency in his address to IHK mentioned that Germany and India have a
historical relation that goes beyond 60 years. Bilateral relations between
Germany and India remain characterised by mutual respect, understanding and
support and therefore, a year-long Germany-India celebration assumes a
special significance in view of the long distance we have travelled together
over the last several decades of diplomatic relations. His Excellency
mentioned about great contribution of Alexander von Humboldt for nature and
society. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has been promoting academic
cooperation between scientists and scholars both in Germany and elsewhere.
HE congratulated the foundation on its marvelous efforts towards the
development of Science, Society and Ecology. Hon’ble Chief Minister of the
state, Mr. D.V. Sadananda Gowda has very much appreciated the theme of the
IHK supported by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in order to organize this
very important IHK at ISEC and he has mentioned that today world is showing
galloping signs of cancerous environment. Needlessly, it is the poor who are
going to suffer the brunt of such changes. To leash this problem, there is a
need to invest more and more on technology for a clean and green human
world.

The IHK has covered
keynote lecture on “The Climate Change Challenge: the common destiny for
the North and the South” by eminent scholar (Prof.
Juergen P. Kropp) Head:
North-South Research Group Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,
Germany; Panel Discussion by eminent scholars (Prof. S.L. Rao, Prof. B.K.
Chandrashekar, Prof. M.V. Nadkarni, Prof. Ravindranath, Prof. K.G. Saxena)
on “Ethical Analysis of Climate Dilemma! How to solve”. Three special
lectures were given during the conference. Prof. R.S. Deshpande has given
special lecture on Social
Dimensions of Climate Change Adaptation,
Prof. Judith Schildt on Exzellenz
weltweit: Be part of a worldwide network. The Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation's pursuit to advance the dialogue between East and West
and Prof. B.K. Chandrashekar on People with us on Climate Change. The
IHK was spread over 18 technical sessions under 7 different themes where
eminent scholars have presented their research findings.

The
response of researchers from many countries to IHK 2011 was very
encouraging. We have received more than 400 abstracts and after rigorous
review process 120 abstracts were finally selected for the presentation in
IHK, ISEC. In three day IHK a total of 104 papers were presented in 18
technical sessions (under 7 different themes). Under each the themes (1-6)
there were 3 parallel sessions and under theme 7 there were 4 parallel
sessions. All the parallel sessions were highly attended by the
participants. The number of participants were 175 from India, Germany,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia and Switzerland.

The
conference deliberated and discussed for three days on wide variety of
issues ranging from sustainable development, climate change, bio diversity
conservation, equity and governance to vulnerability and adaptation to
climate change, human-environment interactions and political economy of
climate change, nuclear science, Biochemical
toxicology, Environmental toxicology,
Environmental biology etc.

Qualitative Data Analysis for Population Studies

The Population Research Centre
of ISEC, Bangalore, and the University of Groningen, the Netherlands,
jointly organised a Training Workshop on ‘Qualitative Data Analysis for
Population Studies’ during August 16-20, 2011 at ISEC, Bangalore. Nineteen
participants attended the workshop.

The objective of the workshop
was to introduce the qualitative research cycle framework for conducting
qualitative research and to refresh the knowledge about
qualitative methods and data management. The programme included
demonstration of use of qualitative data analysis package. One whole session
was devoted to writing of qualitative data.

The workshop
was inaugurated by Prof R S Deshpande, Director, ISEC. The resource persons
for the workshop were Dr Ajay Bailey, Dr Shrinivas Darak from Groningen
University and Prof K S James from ISEC, Bangalore.

Workshop on Vision of Karnataka for the Approach Paper to the XII Five-Year
Plan

The 12th Five-Year Plan will
begin from 2012. A workshop on Vision of Karnataka for the Approach Paper to
the XII Five-Year Plan was organised at ISEC on May 30 and 31, 2011. With
the theme ‘Balanced and Sustainable Development for Reaching New Heights’,
the workshop aimed to formulate a vision document for the 12th Plan for
Karnataka. The workshop consisted of six sessions which addressed
sector-wise challenges the Karnataka economy and society are facing for the
12th Plan period. They included macroeconomic challenges of growth and
development, sectoral issues on agriculture, industry, services and
infrastructure and developmental issues on health, education, population
growth, human development and regional disparity. Governance issues and
environmental concerns and natural resource management and gender issues in
development were also taken up. The Chief Secretary, Government of
Karnataka, was the chief guest. The Additional Chief Sectary was also
present chairing the session on natural resource management. Several senior
administrators from the government and senior academicians presented their
views. The workshop was organised by Prof. Meenakshi Rajeev, Head, CESP and
Dr Suresh Babu, Associate Professor, CESP, ISEC.

Orientation to IAS & IPS Probationers

A five-day training programme
was organised by the CEENR at ISEC from May 9-13, 2011, sponsored by the DP
& AR, Government of Karnataka, for sixteen IAS & IPS probationers of 2009
Karnataka batch. Of them nine were from IPS cadre and the rest were IAS
officers.

A two-day workshop was
organised by the ADRTC to highlight issues in rainfed farming in the country
and in Karnataka on March 14-15, 2011.. The Workshop also focused on the
following sub-themes: a). General problems of rainfed agriculture in India
and Karnataka b). Regional variations in rainfed agriculture c). Policies,
technologies and programmes adopted over the years and their impacts d).
Future prospects of rainfed agriculture and technology options e). The role
of MGNREGA in the development of rainfed agriculture f). Impacts of
watershed programmes on rainfed agriculture development g). Factor market
imperfections in the context of rainfed agriculture

The workshop got overwhelming
response from scholars all across the country. The workshop was inaugurated
by Professor KRS Murthy, Chairman, Board of Governors, ISEC.. The inaugural
session included keynote address by Prof V M Rao, speech by the Guest of
Honour Dr Abusaleh Sharrif, and inaugural address by Prof C Ramaswamy. There
were 6 Technical Sessions in the workshop, each session having one keynote
address, three papers and two discussants. Totally 18 papers were presented
in the workshop. Each session was chaired by a renowned expert related to
the theme of the session. The list of dignitaries who attended the workshop
and chaired different sessions included Professors M V Nadkarni, Dhinesh
Marothia, G K Veeresh, P G Chengappa, Pratap S Birthal and V Ratna Reddy.
The Valedictory was chaired by Prof R S Deshpande and speech delivered by
Prof V M Rao. The papers are being revised to be published in a book form by
some renowned publisher. Dr I Maruthi, Associate Professor, and Prof Parmod
Kumar, Head, ADRTC, organised the Workshop.

Workshop on Decentralisation in Education: Enabling Structures to
Plan-Implement-Review

A Workshop on
‘Decentralisation in Education: Enabling Structures to
Plan-Implement-Review’, was organised by ISEC in collaboration with
Prajayatna, Bangalore, on February 4, 2011. The prime objective of the
workshop was to discuss in detail the structural and procedural aspects of
enabling educational structures working especially at the grassroots level
for ensuring quality education.

The workshop was inaugurated
by Prof R S Deshpande, Director, ISEC, and valedictory address was delivered
by Sri Narayanaswamy, Secretary, RDPR, Government of Karnataka. The workshop
benefited very much in the presence of Sri Kumar Naik, Secretary to
Department of Education, Government of Karnataka, Prof C S Nagaraju,
Visiting Professsor, ISEC, Prof M D Ushadevi, ISEC, Ms Sreeja, Project
Director, Prajayatna, representatives from PRIs, SDMCs, Prajayatna, faculty
from ISEC and other NGO partners. The workshop was coordinated by Dr N
Sivanna from ISEC and Mr Girish from Prajayatna.

A two-day Seminar on
‘Understanding Health Inequalities in India and Brazil from Micro Data:
Measurement, Evidence and Policy,’ was held during January 11-12, 2011 at
ISEC. It was the result of a collaborative co-ordination by ISEC, Bangalore,
the University of Southampton, UK and CEDEPLAR, Brazil, under the project’
Inequalities in Access to Healthcare in Brazil and India: Closing the Gap
for the Poorest-poor’, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC). Altogether, 38 participants attended the seminar, including faculty
from the PRC at ISEC. Dr Sabu Padmadas from the University of Southampton,
UK and Dr K S James from ISEC jointly coordinated the seminar. Dr Gita Sen,
Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore inaugurated it with an
address on the topic ‘Health Inequalities in India before and after Economic
Reforms: Evidence from the National Sample Survey’. The seminar had five
technical sessions in all.

A Discussion Session on Trade Possibilities between Poland and India

A discussion session was
organised on December 8, 2010, by the Institute for Social and Economic
Change, in association with FKCCI and the Centre for Contemporary India
Research and Studies (CCIRS), Institute of International Relations, the
University of Warsaw, Poland, on the trade possibilities between India and
Poland. The meeting, held at the FKCCI Cabinet Hall, was a part of the
collaborative venture between ISEC and the University of Warsaw. A number of
industrialists, people from workers’ unions and academicians participated in
the meeting which was presided over by Mr J Crasta from FKCCI. The meeting
with the Polish business and academic communities assumes particular
importance in the context of enhancing trade relations between India and EU.
It is noteworthy that when Poland will be holding presidency of EU, EU-India
summit will be held in New Delhi next year. The discussion session threw up
various fruitful collaborative possibilities between India and Poland.

This discussion session was
organised by Prof Meenakshi Rajeev from ISEC.

Workshop on Civil Society, Governance and Public Policy in Karnataka

As part of the Research
Project ‘Civil Society and Governance in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh’
(CPIGD-41), a half-day workshop was held on 3rd November, 2010 at the
Institute. The title of the workshop was ‘Civil Society, Governance and
Public Policy in Karnataka’. The workshop was organized by ISEC in
collaboration with the NGO, Myrada and Janaagraha. The Inaugural Session was
chaired by the Director ISEC, Professor R.S.Deshpande made the theme
presentation. The second session of the workshop was chaired by Mr.Arvind
Risbud from Myrada. The workshop was attended by Professors Supriya Roy
Chowdhuri, Siddarth Swaminathan, N.Sivanna Dr.Veerashekharappa, Dr.Anand
Inbanathan, Dr.C.M Lakshmana and Shri Arvind Risbud from Myrada, Ms Unna V.
Govindarajan from Janaagraha and representative from Azim Premji Foundation.
The latter three made their presentations. The workshop was also attended by
representatives from CSCS and Institute of Public Health, Bangalore besides
doctoral scholars from ISEC. The workshop generated discussion on the
concepts and processes of civil society, governance and public policy in
Karnataka. It is planned to incorporate the main points of the discussion
into the study report. The workshop was coordinated by Dr. V Anil Kumar.

Round-Table Discussion on ‘Indo-EU Trade’

The Institute for Social and
Economic Change, Bangalore, in association with FKCCI and the Centre for
Contemporary India Research and Studies (CCIRS), Institute of International
Relations, University of Warsaw, Poland, organised a round-table discussion
on ‘Indo-EU Trade’ on October 19, 2010 at the Cabinet Hall of FKCCI. This
meeting is a part of the collaborative venture between Warsaw University and
ISEC.

Prof Jakub Zaj¹czkowski,
Chairperson, Centre for Contemporary India Research and Studies, Institute
of International Relations, University of Warsaw, Poland, delivered a
lecture on ‘Poland as a Bridge Between India and EU: Economic Perspective’.
This was followed by interventions on the topic by Prof Siddharth
Swaminathan and Dr Suresh Babu. Prof Meenakshi Rajeev, who organised the
meeting, gave the vote of thanks.

State-Level Workshop on the Findings of the Study ‘Engendering Governance’
in Karnataka

As part of its project design
for disseminating research findings among the different stakeholders, a
state-level workshop was organised on September 20, 2010 at ISEC on the
project ‘Engendering Governance’. The participants included the Project
Director from TISS, Dr Manjula Bharathy, several experts and academicians,
representatives of a few NGOs, Grama Panchayats and Government officials.

The workshop was coordinated
by Prof N Sivanna and Dr K G Gayatrhridevi.

Workshop on The Findings of a Study "Engendering Governance in Karnataka"

As part of its project design,
for purposes of disseminating research findings among the different
stakeholders, half-a-day state level workshop was organized on the 20th of
September, 2010 at ISEC on the project “Engendering Governance” The
participants included project director from TISS, Dr.Manjula Bharathy,
several experts and academicians, representatives of few NGOs, Grama
Panchayats and Government officials. The workshop was inaugurated by Prof.R
S Deshpande, Director, ISEC. Prof.N Sivanna, Project Director for the state
of Karnataka, gave the welcome address and introduced the project theme,
methodology and design. Dr.Manjula Bharathy presented the details of the
project as it was carried out in the three states of Bihar, Karnataka and
Rajasthan. In the session that followed, the main findings of the study were
presented by Dr.K G Gayathridevi, Project Co-coordinator and Mr.A Prakash,
Research Officer. There were four panelists hailing from different academic
background who reviewed the presentation paper and gave their comments and
observations; Prof.Meenakshi Sundaram (visiting professor, NIAS);
Prof.Siddarth Swaminathan (R K Hegde Chair Professor at ISEC), Prof.M D
Ushadevi (Prof. and Head of Centre for Human Resource Development, ISEC) and
Dr.Sudha (Prof of Political Science, Bangalore) were these panelists. There
was a good discussion by participants and suggestions for improving the
report were made. In the end, Prof.Abdul Aziz, as the chairperson, provided
an overall critique of the report and suggestions for improvement. A
significant part of the workshop was that a number of elected
representatives, who were present in the workshop having come from different
parts of the state, made valuable interventions into the presentation and
clarified on many issues and points. The workshop concluded with a vote of
thanks by Dr.K G Gayathridevi. The workshop was coordinated by Prof. N
Sivanna and Dr. K.G. Gayatrhridevi.

Workshop on Policies for Inclusion in India and Beyond

A workshop on Policies for
Inclusion in India and Beyond has been organised by the institute in
collaboration with the University of Oxford and London School of Economics,
UK on September 2-3, 2010. This workshop was organised as a part of the
long-term research study on Improving Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth
undertaken at ISEC in collaboration with the above institutions.

The workshop has been
organised in two parts. The first part, on the afternoon of Thursday 2
September, was a public lecture in which Professor Maitreesh Ghatak, London
School of Economics, UK, delivered a talk on “Delivery of Public Services:
Models, Experiments and Policy”. While Prof. K R S Murthy, Chairman, Board
of Governors, ISEC, has presided over the meeting, Prof. R S Deshpande
welcomed the participants. Prof. N Prabhu Deva, Vice Chancellor, Bangalore
University has also participated.

The second part of the
workshop, on Friday 3 September, was a full day of interaction between
academics and policy-makers. Inaugural address was delivered by Mr. S V
Ranganath, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka. There were three
sessions: health insurance, empowerment, and Children and Schools. In each
of three sessions, academics briefly summarised research findings. A
practitioner or policymaker was invited to comment, followed by open
discussion. In all, about 65 participants representing government, civil
society organisations and academic institutions from India, and academic
institutions from UK, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria attended the
meeting.

The workshop was coordinated
by Prof. D Rajasekhar and Ms. R Manjula.

Building Knowledge Base on Ageing in India: A series of programmatic and
research studies

A workshop was organised to
discuss the first phase of the study on “Building Knowledge Base on Ageing
in India: A Series of Programmatic and Research Studies”, funded by UNFPA
during August 31 and September 1, 2010. There were seven studies initiated
as part of the first phase of the study. Dr Marc Derveeuw, UNFPA
representative in India presided over the inaugural session and delivered
the inaugural address. Altogether, 9 papers were presented and discussed in
the workshop. Prof K S James coordinated the workshop.

Workshop on ‘Sub-National Estimation of XI FYP/MDG Indicators: A Case of Two
Districts in Karnataka and Rajasthan’

With regard to the on-going
research project, ‘Sub-National Estimation of MDG Indicators: An Analysis of
Two States with Differential Quality of Data’, funded by UNFPA, a one-day
workshop was held on August 30, 2010, to discuss the draft report of the
study and preparation of a manual for the use of the district-level
officials to estimate regularly the MDG Indicators. The workshop was co-ordinated
by Prof K S James, Head, Population Research Centre, ISEC, Bangalore.

Training of Trainers and Workshop on ‘Financial Performance Indicators for
Micro-insurance

The Training of Trainers and
Workshop on ‘Financial Performance Indicators for Micro-insurance’ was
organised at the Institute in collaboration with GTZ, Germany; ADA,
Luxembourg; and BRS, Belgium, during July 19-23, 2010. The training course
covered the following topics: 1) Micro-insurance Performance Analysis:
General Overview; 2) Understanding Financial Statements for Micro-insurance;
3) Measuring Financial Performance in Microinsurance: The key principles; 4)
Measuring Financial Performance in Micro-insurance: The Key Indicators; and
5) The Fact-sheet: A User-friendly Tool to Compute Ratios and Create Graphs.
The training programme was meant to develop trainers from microinsurance
providers in south Asia. The participants were from India, Bangladesh,
Canada, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany.

The training programme was
coordinated by Prof D Rajasekhar, Head, and Ms R Manjula, Senior Research
Assistant, Centre for Decentralisation and Development.

Round-Table Discussion on Local Governance

The Shri Ramakrishna Hegde
Chair of ISEC organised a round-table discussion on local governance on July
12, 2010. The panel of participants included Prof Vijayendra Rao, of the
World Bank; Prof B K Chandrashekhar, former minister, Government of
Karnataka; Prof S S Meenakshisundaram, of NIAS; Prof Vinod Vyasuslu, of CBPS;
and Professors R S Deshpande, Siddharth Swaminathan and N Sivanna of ISEC.
Prof Rao presented the results from an extensive study of gram panchayats in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The talk, ‘the Grammar of
Gram Sabha’, shed light on the deliberative decision-making processes at
local level government institutions, particularly on issues such as “who
participates,” “whose preferences are represented,” and “who benefits” at
gram sabha meetings. Prof Rao’s talk was followed by a discussion on the
structure and processes within local government institutions, views from the
ground, as well as policy implications of greater administrative and
political reform.

Round-Table on ‘Barriers to Participation and Inclusion in Panchayati Raj
Institutions: The Case of Elite/ Programme Capture’

The Institute organised a
one-day round-table on Barriers to Participation and Inclusion in Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs): The Case of Elite Programme Capture on June 28,
2010, in collaboration with NCAER and IDRC. The Round-Table discussed the
research findings of NCAER and ISEC as well as those by other researchers
from south India with representatives of PRIs, NGOs and academic
institutions.

Workshop on ‘Preparation of Policy Briefs and Action Plan for Implementation
of
Pro-Poor Policies’

A one-day workshop on
Preparation of Policy Briefs and Action Plan for Implementation of Pro-Poor
Policies was organised at ISEC on May 25, 2010. The workshop was a part of
studies sponsored by FAO and Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India,
on ‘Managing Common Pool Resources for Poverty Reduction in Tribal Areas of
Eastern India with Special Reference to Small-Scale Culture Fisheries and
Non-Timber Forest Products’, completed by ISEC, and ‘Infrastructure
Development for Agricultural Growth & Poverty Alleviation’ completed by NCAP,
New Delhi. The main purpose of the workshop was to crystalise suggestions
and recommendations based on the findings of these two reports and elicit
comments and suggestions on drafts of policy briefs and action plan for
implementing new pro-poor policies.

In all, 25 participants from
various academic institutions, NCAP, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of
India, and ISEC attended the workshop. The workshop was coordinated by Prof
R S Deshpande in his capacity as Project Director and was presided over by
Prof Ramesh Chand, Director, NCAP, New Delhi, and Dr P C Bodh, Adviser,
Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Orientation Programme on ‘The World Bank and its Knowledge Resources’

Institute for Social and
Economic Change, Bangalore, in collaboration with Public Information Center,
The World Bank, India Office, New Delhi, organised an Orientation Programme
on ‘The World Bank and its Knowledge Resources’ on April 30, 2010. ISEC
Director Prof R S Deshpande presided over the programme and gave
introductory remarks about the World Bank and its contribution to India.
ISEC Deputy Librarian, welcomed the resource persons and the participants of
the programme. Mrs Hema Balasubramanian and Mrs Sunita Malhotra of the World
Bank presented an overview of the programme.

Prof R S Deshpande, Director
of ISEC, welcomed the participants and requested Prof Abhijit Sen to preside
over the day’s proceedings. Prof Sen emphasised the importance of evaluation
and monitoring of C-DAPs.

Workshop on ‘Inclusive Agricultural Growth: Regional Perspective’

The Institute organised
one-day workshop on ‘Inclusive Agricultural Growth: Regional Perspective’ on
March 31, 2010, under National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP)
sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Government of
India. The main aim of the workshop was to deliberate trends in agriculture
growth across states, regions, and districts, and underlying reasons for
differential growth pattern, stagnation in agricultural productivity and its
impact on food security.

Development
Convention is an annual event organised by the social sciences research
institutes situated in South India that are funded by ICSSR. ISEC organised
the Ninth Development Convention during January 21-23, 2010. The theme of
the convention was Institutional Processes in Development Paradigms. There
were 10 technical sessions with a large number of papers from scholars from
India and abroad. In addition, there was a poster session for young
scholars. Prof Prabhat Patnaik, Vice-Chairman, State Planning Board,
Government of Kerala, was the Chief Guest for the inaugural session. It was
chaired by Prof V S Ramamurthy, Director, NIAS, Bangalore. Prof B L Mungekar,
Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and former member of
the Planning Commission, Government of India, delivered the keynote address.

There were three panel
sessions on the themes: (1) Contours of Institutions and Development, (2)
Institutions and Development: State, Market and Communities, and (3)
Facets of Institutions and Development: An Indian Perspective. There was
also a convention lecture delivered by Prof K P Kannan on January 22, 2010,
on ‘Challenges of Inclusive Growth: An Informal Economy Perspective’. In
all, there were 10 theme-based technical sessions encompassing various
dimensions of institutions and development with a large number of papers
from scholars from India and abroad.

The
valedictory address was given by Prof Mahendra Dev, Chairman, Commission for
Agriculture Costs and Prices, Government of India. Prof P G Chengappa,
Vice-Chancellor, University of Agricultural Science, Bangalore, was the
Chief Guest. Shri D H Shankaramurthy, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board,
Government of Karnataka, chaired the valedictory function. Prof Meenakshi
Rajeev, Prof K S James and Dr Manohar Yadav coordinated the Convention.

Seminar on Institutional Aspects of Pro-Poor Policy: Revising the Indian
Poverty Line

A seminar
on Institutional Aspects of Pro-Poor Policy: Revising the Indian Poverty
Line was organised on December 15, 2009, by Centre for Decentralisation and
Development of ISEC in collaboration with London School of Economics,
University of Oxford and iiG – Improving Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth –
Research Programme Consortium.

The aim of
the seminar is to enable a dialogue between different actors on the question
of how to revise the Indian poverty line. Although poverty line has proved
useful in analysing spatial and temporal trends in poverty and initiating
policies aimed at poverty alleviation and resource allocation in India, this
has been criticised for no longer being appropriate for a rapidly growing
Indian economy. Papers in the seminar discussed weaknesses in the current
definition, examined expenditure on health by the poor and provided
suggestions for how the poverty line can be revised to take account of
health expenditure, housing costs as well as other considerations. The
seminar was coordinated by Prof D Rajasekhar together with Dr Erlend Berg
and Ms R Manjula.

A meeting
for Mid-Term Review (MTR) of Agriculture and Allied Sectors for the Eleventh
Plan was held at ISEC on October 5, 2009. The Secretaries / directors and
other officials from the department of agriculture and allied sectors from
four southern states (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh)
participated in the consultation. The welcome address was given by Prof R S
Deshpande, Director, ISEC, and the meeting was chaired by Shri L Rynjah,
Principal Adviser (Planning Commission). Shri Daljeet Singh, Director
(Agriculture), Planning Commission, along with other members of Review
Committee participated in the consultation meeting. The meeting was
coordinated by Dr M J Bhende of ADRTC, ISEC.

Realising
the need for an interaction of scientists from various disciplines working
on environmental issues, CEENR of ISEC in association with the National
Institute of Ecology (NIE) organised a two-day National Seminar on
‘Ecological Economics: An Approach towards Socioeconomic and Environmental
Sustainability’ and ‘Prof R Misra Birth Centenary Lecture – 2009’ during
September 30-October 1, 2009, at ISEC.

The seminar
was sponsored by Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of
Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India; Central Statistical
Organisation (Social Statistics Division), Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation, Government of India; and Environmental Management
and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), Department of Forests, Ecology and
Environment, Govt. of Karnataka.

The seminar was coordinated by Dr Sunil Nautiyal and Dr
Bibhu Prasad Nayak.

Workshop on Sub-National Estimation of MDG Indicators: An Analysis of Two
States with Differential Quality of Data

A half-day
workshop on ‘Sub-National Estimation of MDG Indicators: An Analysis of Two
States with Differential Quality of Data’ was held on September 12, 2009
between 9.30 am and 1.00 pm. This was a project-initiation workshop to
develop methods of arriving at reliable data sources at district or
sub-district level based on a case study of four districts, two each in
Karnataka and Rajasthan. There were eight participants including experts on
demography and statistics from different parts of India. The outcome of the
workshop included developing possible indicators at the district and
sub-district level. It also suggested that these indicators should be
developed at lower levels and later explore the possibility of any
adjustment to ensure these indicators have the desirable level of quality.

The Budget, 2009-10

Open Discussion Forum (ODF), was organised by The Centre for Political
Institutions, Governance and Development (CPIGD), ISEC, on The
Budget 2009-10 on July 13, 2009 at the Institute.

Farm
Sector in Karnataka: Farmers' Indebtedness and Risk Management

Half A Day Workshop was held on The Project Titled "Farm
Sector In Karnataka: Farmers' Indebtedness And Risk Management".
Presentation Of The Project Proposal was done by Dr.(Ms) Meenakshi Rajeev
and Results from
The Preliminary Analysis of
The Secondary Data was presented by Ms. B P Vani.

National Seminar on “Climate Change: Data Availability and Requirement”

Global Climate Change has
emerged as an important issue, and governments and societies are
deliberating on the challenges and ways to tackle climate change. So there
is a wide consensus of the fact that the problem of climate change need to
be dealt with on a priority basis before it gets worse. The main challenge
is to integrate climate change and development activities into a common
framework, and to develop and implement effectively an integrated social,
economic and environmental policy on mitigation and adaptation to climate
change. There is an urgent need to understand the linkages between climate
change and the spatio-temporal change in social, economic and environmental
well being. But the challenge in understanding the complex
interrelationships between these factors is due to lack of adequate high
quality and timely statistics and the appropriate tools for statistical
analysis. In this context, realizing the need for the proper data and its
availability, the Center for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR)
of the Institute for Social and Economic Change is association with Central
Statistical Organization (Social Statistics Division), of Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India has organized
this two day National Seminar on ‘Climate Change: Data Requirement and
Availability’ 16-17 April 2009. This national seminar on data requirement
and availability relate to climate change is the first of its own kind in
the country. This national seminar was organized in association with the
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Central Statistical
Organization (Social Statistics Division), Government of India. Shri. Pronob
Sen, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has
inaugurated the seminar and delivered Inaugural Address. Prof. R.S.
Deshpande, Director, ISEC welcomed the participants and in his welcome
address he mentioned that this seminar has its own importance as so far we
have not done much of significant work on the data generation that would
help us to predict the consequences of the climate change. Dr. Sunil
Nautiyal, Associate Professor, CEENR, has highlighted Centre’s activities
and research work on various issues, including climate change. Prof. K.N.
Ninan, Head-CEENR, has mentioned that though the issue of climate change has
become the focus of global attention recently. However, our Centre has
visualized these problems and challenges far back in 1970s 80s not with the
same terminology the very word ‘climate change’ but in a different term that
has same connotation. Concurrently Prof. Ninan has delivered formal vote of
thanks to the distinguished participants of the seminar.

In these two days we have
had very interesting paper presentations by eminent researchers from various
disciplines but working on different aspects of climate change in different
parts of the country over five technical sessions and also two enlightening
keynote lectures by Prof. U. Sankar, Eminent Economist and Prof. K.G. Saxena,
Eminent Ecologist. Apart from presentations we are fortunate to have many
participants who are experts in this area too and are from different
professional and occupational backgrounds. We had our resource persons and
participants from research institutions, universities, advocacy
organizations, administration and government. Our idea behind inviting
resources persons from diverse background like ecology, economics,
statistics, forestry, engineering, public administration and public policy
is to have a effective dialogue on the complex issues of climate change and
even more complex phenomenon of data issues involved in climate change
research. There was Valedictory Session at the end, which was chaired by
Shri S.K. Das, Director General, Central Statistical Organization (Social
Statistics Division), of Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation, Government of India. In valedictory session,
The overview of the
seminar was given by Dr. Sunil Nautiyal, Seminar Coordinator and
Prof. R.S. Deshpande, Director - ISEC, made over all remarks on the broad
perspective of the seminar. Prof. S.L. Rao, Prof. S.L. Rao, Chairman, Board
of Governors, ISEC delivered valedictory address. Concurrently Prof. K.N.
Ninan, Head-CEENR, has delivered formal vote of thanks to the distinguished
participants of the seminar. In these two days we couldn’t focus on many
relevant issues like data modeling, remote sensing application and
institutional issues involved in compilation and publication of such data
these requires for complacent of the outcome of such seminar. In future
activities these areas will be taken as a priority basis. Overall efforts
made by CEENR-ISEC in conducting the seminar were highly appreciated and
everybody opined that such seminars should be conducted on regular basis to
sensitize the methodology for integrated interdisciplinary research to
predict consequences of climate change for better adaptation and mitigating
the threats related to climate change.

Annual Conference of
Indian Association for Research on National Income and Wealth (IARNIW)

The
Conference was jointly organized by the IARNIW and ISEC from 27-29 November
2008. It was inaugurated with the presidential address by Professor B.B.
Bhattacharya, President, IARNIW & Vice-Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru
University; and keynote address by Professor S.D. Tendulkar, Chairman of
the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, Government of India. The
inaugural function was chaired by Shri S.L. Rao, Chairman, Board of
Governors, and ISEC with a welcome address by Professor R.S. Deshpande,
Director, and ISEC. Dr S.L. Shetty, Director of EPW Research Foundation,
delivered the Lecture on "Growing Inequality: A Serious Challenge to the
Indian Society and Polity" in the Memory of Professor VKRV Rao.

The
Conference suggested for the creation of a centre for research on national
income and transfer accounts at ISEC. The suggestion was mooted by Prof.
B.B. Bhattacharya and endorsed by the Conference, as ISEC has been engaged
in national income based research on transfer accounts. Proposed research
centre was considered a tribute for Professor VKRV Rao in his birth
centenary year and for his seminal contributions to India's national income.
This centre's expected contributions include research support for estimation
of national and state income for policy makers, carry out advanced
conceptual and theoretical research, and data research including
measurement issues on national income accounting in India.

The
Conference was co-ordinated by Professor M.R. Narayana in cooperation with
Sri Ramesh Kolli (Additional Director-General, CSO) and Sri P.C. Mohanan
(Deputy-Director General, National Statistical Commission) and with the
support of staff and students in the ISEC

Workshop on Formative Evaluation of the
Management Development Programme (MDP) for the field level functionaries in
the education department of the state government

The CHRD has
initiated a research study on Formative Evaluation of the Management
Development Programme (MDP) for the field level functionaries in the
education department of the state government. This study is being
sponsored by the Ajzeem Premji Foundation (APF) and Policy Planning Unit (PPU)
of the Commissioner for Public Instruction, Govt. of Karnataka. In this
connection, a two-day workshop was held on Nov. 13 & 14, 2008 in ISEC. The
purpose of the workshop was to provide background information about the MDP,
the objectives, nature of the study and its proposed methodology. The
participants to the workshop included Principal/Director and senior faculty
in Education from the degree and post-graduate colleges of Education and
Education Consortium, who would be coordinating the data collection for the
study from four districts in the state. Prof. C.S. Nagaraju was the lead
resource person for the workshop. The workshop was coordinated by Dr.
M.D.Usha Devi, Professor & Head, CHRD

Poverty in
Karnataka – Status, Programmes and Issues - 20-9-2008

The incidence of poverty in Karnataka has
declined; but, this was uneven across the regions and social groups. In
this context, the following questions arise. What factors contributed to
somewhat high incidence of poverty in urban areas and among the depressed
castes and groups? How did the policies and programmes influence the poverty
incidence in the state and across the different regions and groups? What
lessons can be learnt for policy and programme formulation? In order to
discuss these questions and arrive at appropriate policy decisions, ISEC has
organised one-day seminar on September 20, 2008, in collaboration with the
Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Bangalore.

Seminar on Draft Karnataka Groundwater (Regulation and Control of
Development and Management) Bill, 2006

Groundwater management is one of the most
important tasks in order to preserve the natural resources and ensure
sustainable water supply. As the legal aspect of groundwater is concerned,
it is important to work towards a groundwater policy, as there is no single
law that runs across the country dealing with groundwater ownership and
management. All groundwater acts are established in the form of state acts
as they are assigned to the state list. In Karnataka, though the problem of
groundwater over-exploitation is acute and its consequences are alarming,
the state is yet to come up with a legislation. Though the bill has been
drafted and discussed several times, no final shape is given as yet. Keeping
in view the importance of such a legislation, a Brainstorming session on
Draft Karnataka Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development and
Management) Bill, 2006, was held on September 17, 2008 at the Institute with
the focus on identifying important issues and missing links in the proposed
bill and to suggest possible options for improving the bill keeping in view
the propositions as well as the mandates. This was a joint effort of
Institute for Social and Economic Change and the Economic Advisor’s Office
of the Government of Karnataka. There were three technical sessions besides
the inaugural and concluding sessions, covering various themes. Senior
officials of various Government bodies of Government of Karnataka as well as
Central government, and activists from NGOs made presentations and
participated in the deliberations. ADRTC and CEENR of ISEC coordinated the
Seminar. Key points and gaps discussed across sessions were summarized and
accordingly required changes were incorporated in the draft bill and
submitted to the Government of Karnataka for its consideration.

The incidence of poverty in Karnataka has
declined; but, this was uneven across the regions and social groups. In
this context, the following questions arise. What factors contributed to
somewhat high incidence of poverty in urban areas and among the depressed
castes and groups? How did the policies and programmes influence the poverty
incidence in the state and across the different regions and groups? What
lessons can be learnt for policy and programme formulation? In order to
discuss these questions and arrive at appropriate policy decisions, ISEC has
organised one-day seminar on September 20, 2008, in collaboration with the
Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Bangalore.

The seminar was coordinated by Prof D
Rajasekhar, Head, Centre for Decentralisation and Development.

Thirtieth Annual Conference of the Indian Association for
the Study of Population (IASP)(October
17-19, 2008)

The annual conference of the Indian
Association for the Study of Population (IASP) was organized by Institute
for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore during October 17-19,
2008. This conference brought together about 250 experts from both from
India and abroad. The theme of the conference was Population Gender and
Health. The first Mari Bhat Memorial Oration was organized as part of the
conference. Professor Tim Dyson, London School of Economics delivered the
Oration. The George Simmons Memorial lecture was delivered by Professor Ami
Tusi, John Hopkins University, USA. The conference programme included four
Plenary sessions, 10 technical session and 4 poster sessions. Altogether
around 200 papers were presented in the conference.

In continuation of the International
Roundtable on “Indicators of School Quality: Towards Gender-friendly
Schooling Environment” held in March 2008 at the ISEC, jointly organised by
Commonwealth of Learning [COL], Commonwealth Foundation[CF], and
Commonwealth Secretariat and the ISEC, the indicators developed therein were
tested in three schools/communities in different parts of India. Advocate
S.Suhruth Kumar, Grameena Padana Kendram [GPK], Trivandrum, Sri Bharat of
Vishakha, Jaipur and Dr.Niranjanaradhya of the Centre for Child and Law
[CCL], Bangalore kindly undertook to do the testing. The work done at the
school/community level was reviewed and validated at a two day Validation
Workshop [VW] conducted in the ISEC on 3rd and 4th of
November. The Validation Workshop was attended by delegates from Bangladesh
who are also interested in testing the same indicators, besides the
participants from the three organizations testing in India. Dr.Tanyss Munro
from the COL besides Professor P.K.Michael Tharakan the Project Director and
Professor M.D.Usha Devi Head CHRD and also other experts from the ISEC
faculty attended the VW. The indicators were streamlined and made more
people friendly. It was decided that testing would be extended upto January
2009 and the final report will be presented in February 2009. The indicators
and the changes made in them will be presented in the Wiki Educator and
eventually is expected to be brought out as a Toolkit which can be used by
any one not only in the Commonwealth countries but elsewhere in the world.

SEMINARS
UNDER THE OPEN DISCUSSION FORUM

The
Centre for Political Institutions, Governance and Development (CPIGD)
initiated a series of informal discussions on topical subjects,
under the title of “Open Discussion Forum (ODF),
on Contemporary Political and Developmental Issues”.

The following discussion meets on contemporary
political and developmental issues organised by the centre:

1.On
the topic Confidence Vote in the Indian Parliament and its Political
Ramifications on September 24, 2008.

International
Seminar on “Diversities in the Indian Diaspora: Nature, Implications and
Responses”

In partnership with the Indian Institute of
Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, the Institute organized an International
Seminar on ‘Diversities in the Indian Diaspora: Nature, Implications and
Responses’ on 7-9 May 2008. This Seminar was co-ordinated by Professor N.
Jayaram. About 30 national and international delegates participated in the
Seminar.

The Seminar was inaugurated by historian and
biographer Dr Ramachandra Guha. Professor Peter Ronald DeSouza, Director,
IIAS explained the objectives and orientation of the larger ‘Diversities’
Project under which the instant Seminar was conceived. Professor Jayaram,
Director, ISEC welcomed the delegates and presented a thematic introduction
to the Seminar. Dr K. Puttaswamaiah, Chief Secretary (Government of
Karnataka) and a Founder Member of the ISEC Society presided over the
Inaugural function.

In all, 18 full-length papers were presented
in six thematic sessions. Among the paper presenters were scholars
specializing in the study of Indian Diaspora – Vijay Agnew, Chandrashekhar
Bhat, Kamala Ganesh, Vinesh Hookoomsingh, Prakash C. Jain, Ravindra K. Jain,
Parmjit S. Judge, M.A. Kalam, T. Marimuthu, Aparna Rayaprol, and Constantino
Xavier – and Ambassadors who have shown keen interest in the Indian Diaspora
– I.S. Chauhan, Paramjit S. Sahai, J.C. Sharma. As part of the Seminar, a
film– ‘Jahaji Music: India in the Caribbean – produced and directed by
Tejaswini Niranjana was screened and discussed.

Professor Yogesh Atal delivered the
valedictory address. He not only summarised the entire proceedings of the
Seminar, but also delineated the lines on which future research could
proceed. Professor DeSouza presided over the valedictory function and
Professor Jayaram proposed the vote of thanks.

The Seminar discussed the various aspects of
‘the Indian Diaspora’ by focusing on the diversity of the phenomenon covered
under the rubric. To start with, the period of the initial immigration of
the Indians abroad (that is, colonial or post-independence) and the nature
of their immigration (that is, under the indentured labour system or
voluntary) makes for diversity in the courses and consequences of the Indian
Diaspora. The magnitude of the populations involved and the nature of their
economic status and political predicament in different diasporic situations
are diverse. The economic, political, social and cultural experiences of the
immigrant Indians in the country of their settlement have been varied.
Furthermore, the fact that the socio-cultural diversity in India has been
carried abroad by the diasporic Indians further complicates the situation.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the orientation of the Indians in the Diaspora
towards India and Indian nationals, and that of India and the Indian
nationals towards the Indian diaspora is also varied.

The themes covered included the manifestation
of institutional and socio-cultural diversities in the Indian Diaspora;
management/levelling of diversities and the assertion of Indian-ness (other
than in citizenship terms) in the Diaspora; host country’s response to the
diversity of the Indian Diaspora: multiculturalism and assimilation models
or what citizenship implies; civilizational moorings of the Diaspora and the
host country’s socio-cultural and political reality; the religious, caste,
regional, and linguistic associations of the Diaspora; the role of the
electronic media in reinforcing diversities; and problematising ‘India’,
‘Indians’ and ‘the Indian Diaspora’ as analytical constructs.

The seminar highlighted that ‘the Indian
Diaspora’ is not a homogenous phenomenon. This has an important policy
implication in that a realistic policy must take into account the
differential interests and expectations of the heterogeneous Diaspora and
differentially address the issues of the different diasporic Indian
communities, instead of mistaking the PIO (people of Indian origin) for the
Indian Diaspora. The uncritical use of the phrase ‘the Indian Diaspora’ has,
it was observed, unwittingly hindered both our understanding of the
phenomenon and the possibility of a realistic policy towards Indian
communities abroad.

Round-Table on ‘Indicators of School Quality: Towards Gender-Friendly
Schooling Environment

An International
Round-Table on ‘Indicators of School Quality: Towards Gender-Friendly
Schooling Environment’ was organised during March 26-29, 2008, jointly by
the ISEC, the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, the C o m m o n w e a l t h
Foundation, London, and the Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver. The
objective of the Round-Table was to develop indicators of school quality
which could be used by school m a n a g e m e n t committees/boards and
communities. Shri P Prabhu, Advisor to the Governor of Karnataka,
inaugurated the Round-Table on March 26. On March 28, Professor U R
Ananthamurthy released the Commonwealth Foundation Report on ‘Girls’
Education: A Foundation for Development,’ at a special session chaired by
Shri S L Rao, Chairman, Board of Governors of ISEC. Mr Vijaya Krishnarayan,
Deputy Director, Commonwealth Foundation, participated in the session. More
than 30 delegates, many of whom were from South Asian countries,
participated in the Round-Table. Delegates from other than the South Asian
countries and from Bangalore and nearby places also participated in it. The
organising bodies were represented by Dr Tanyss Munro, Dr Mohan Menon, Ms
Jyostna Jha, Ms Anisha Rajapakshe. Professor P K M Tharakan, R K Hegde Chair
Professor, ISEC, coordinated the local organisational matters while Dr Munro
was the coordinator for the external organisational matters. Professor M D
Usha Devi and Professor S N Sangita were the joint convenors.

Micro
Finance Needs Of Vulnerable Groups

The Institute for Social
and Economic Change (ISEC) has undertaken a study on ‘Assessing the
Micro-Finance Needs of Vulnerable Groups’ in collaboration with New Entity
for Social Action (NESA). The study was carried out by the Centre for
Decentralisation and Development in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu covering a
large sample from the five vulnerable groups (dalit, adivasis, transgendered
(aravanis), Muslim women and sex workers) in the project areas of NGOs
supported by NESA. The draft report of study has been completed. It is in
this context that a two-day national seminar on Micro Finance Needs of
Vulnerable Groups was organised at ISEC during March 11-12, 2008. The
purpose of the seminar was to disseminate the study findings, discuss the
micro-finance needs of vulnerable groups emerging from the study, and to
identify the strategies, approach and activities to meet these needs. In
all, 47 persons representing the government, academic institutions, banks,
NGOs and donors attended the two-day national seminar. The seminar was
coordinated by Dr. D Rajasekhar with the assistance of Ms. R Manjula and Ms.
Suchitra J Y.

National Seminar on
Globalisation and the Management of Vulnerabilities

The Institute organized a two-day National
Seminar on Globalisation and the Management of Vulnerabilities on March
26-27, 2008. The seminar was expected to contribute to the ongoing debate on
globalization. While there is some minimum consensus that globalization has
exacerbated inequalities within and among nations, the exact nature of this
relationship and its wider implications remain little explored, inadequately
systematized and theorized. The seminar sought to address some of these
gaps.

Water
Resources in Karnataka: Emerging Challenges and Options (25th of March,
2008 at Vikasa Soudha, Bangalore)

The Centre for Ecological
Economics and Natural Resources of the Institute in cooperation with the
State Planning Board of Government of Karnataka organized a one-day
Seminar on “Water Resources in Karnataka: Emerging Challenges and Options”
as part of the World Water Resources Day. The objective of the Seminar was
to discuss key issues and challenges facing the water sector and to evolve
policy alternatives for adoption by the stakeholders.

The CHRD in collaboration
with State Project Office, SSA Mission/ GoK organized a two-day’s State
level Workshop for Developing Handbook on Research & Evaluation Within SSA
Framework on March 6-7, 2008 in ISEC. The aim of the workshop was to
familiarize the officials at the state, district and sub-district levels to
identify key research issues, research design and techniques to undertake
suitable studies relating to access, quality, monitoring & supervision and
community involvement under SSA framework. Dr. M.D. Usha Devi, Professor &
Head, CHRD provided academic and logistic support apart from being a
resource person herself in the workshop. The inaugural address for the
workshop was delivered by Smt. Vandita Sharma, IAS, State Project Director,
SSA Mission, GoK and the valedictory address was delivered by Sri.T.M.
Vijayabhaskar, Secretary, Primary and Secondary Education, GoK. There were
altogether 32 participants in the workshop which included key resource
persons in the field of Education, the State Project Officers, SSA Mission,
Deputy Directors of Public Instruction, DIET Principals & faculty, officers
from the DSERT, Block Resource and Cluster Resource Persons.

Budget 2008-09: An Analysis

ISEC, in association with the Bangalore
Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) and Ramaiah Institute of Management
Studies (RIMS) organized a seminar on "Budget 2008-09 - An analysis" on
Saturday, 1st March, 2008 at the Vijayanagar Hall, Hotel Taj Residency, M.G.
Road, Bangalore. From ISEC side Meenakshi Rajeev was involved in the
organisation of the seminar. Shri S L Rao Chaired the seminar, Prof. R S
Deshpande, Dr K. Gayithri, and Meenakshi Rajeev made presentations.

NFHS-3 Data User’s Workshop, January 3-4, 2008

Two day NFHS-3 data user’s
workshop was jointly organised by PRC, ISEC and IIPS Mumbai on January 3-4,
2008. The major objective of the workshop was to acquaint the researchers
with NFHS-3 data and to facilitate further analysis of the data. Through
this workshop, participants were introduced to the NFHS-3 data files, their
management and generation of selected indicators on population, health and
nutrition. A total of 31 members representing various academic,
governmental and non-governmental organisations of the four southern states
participated in this two-day workshop.

Regional Consultation on
"Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector

Recently, the
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) completed a report
on the Bill on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector.
Discussions are being held in different parts of the country on the Bill. On its part the
ADRT Centre organised the Southern Regional Consultation at ISEC on May 22, 2007. Trade
Union leaders and activists, academicians and administrators participated in the
Consultation. Professor R S Deshpande coordinated the organisaion of Regional
Consultation.

National Seminar on the 11th
Five-Year Plan of Karnataka: Perspectives

The Institute
and the Karnataka State Planning Board jointly organised a two-day National Seminar on the
"11th Five-Year Plan of Karnataka: Perspectives" on May 4-5, 2007. The seminar
focused on achieving "Inclusive Growth in Karnataka State" through earmarking
adequate financial resources for the thrust areas in the 11th Five-Year Plan Document to
be prepared by the Central Planning Commission. The major focus of the seminar was on the
following thrust areas: Agriculture and Water Management, Industry and Infrastructure,
Balanced Regional Development, Social and Human Development, Financing the Plan, and
Implementation Strategies. The seminar was coordinated by Professor S Madheswaran and Dr.
C Nanjundaiah from the Centre for Economic Studies and Policy, ISEC.

CEENR-ISEC-CAPRi Training
Course

A training
course for South Asian researchers and practitioners on "Property Rights, Collective
Action and Environmental Governance: The Links between State, Community and
Resources" was co-organised by the CEENR-ISEC and CGIAR systemwide program on
Collective Action and Property Tights (CAPRi), from April 16 to 20, 2007. Dr. Madhushree
Sekher and Professor K V Raju coordinated the programme. The objective of the programme
was to highlight collective action and property rights issues in environmental governance,
in order to better understand the considerations for improved natural resource management
(NRM) that sustain rural livelihoods. In all 21 participants from Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, and India attended the course.

International Conference on
21st Century Challenges to Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Biotechnology, Environment,
Nutrition, Trade and Policy

The Institute
organised in association with the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore,
USAID, Higher Education for Development (HED), and Lowa State University, USA, an
International Conference from March 15 to 17, 2007. Professor R S Deshpande, who is the
co-chairperson, co-ordinated the conference on behalf of ISEC. The conference was attended
by 350 national and international delegates. Out of these, 45 delegates came from foreign
universities.

Workshop on Implications of
NFHS-3 Preliminary Findings for Karnataka

A one-day
workshop was organised on February 24, 2007, by the population Research Centre of ISEC to
discuss the implications of the NFHS-3 findings for Karnataka.The major objectives of the
workshop were to discuss the preliminary findings with other surveys like RCH, Census etc.
More importantly, it aimed at disseminating the findings of NFHS-3 and RCH survey results
to the policy makers. The participants were mainly drawn from state and district officials
of the department of health, Government of Karnataka.

Workshop on the Role of
District Administration

A one-day
workshop on the Role of District Administration was organised by the Centre for
Decentralisation and Development in collaboration with the Administrative Staff College of
India (ASCI), Hyderabad on December 1, 2006. The main objective of the workshop was to
analyse and assess the role of District Administration in the context of attempts to
introduce decentralised planning and governance through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional
Amendments. Mr. M R Srinivas Murthy, the Principal Secreatry RDPR of GOK, delivered the
Keynote address. The workshop was coordinated by Prof D Rajasekhar.

Seminar by Japanese Scholars

A group of
six Japanese scholars associated with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation India, Tokyo visited
the Institute on August 22, 2006. The team was led by Dr. Hideki Esho Professor of
Economics of Hosei University. A half day workshop was organised by Center for Economic
Studies and Policy where in each of the scholars made a presentation. Dr. K Gayithri
coordinated the workshop.

Rejuvenating Tanks for
Sustainable Livelihoods - Emerging Trends

The Centre
for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources of the ISEC organised a two-day National
workshop on "Rejuvenating Tanks for Sustainable Livelihoods - Emerging Trends"
on August 3-4, 2006 at ICRISAT Campus, Hyderabad. The National workshop was conducted as a
component of the study on tanks in Mid-Godavari Basin: Building Techno-Ecological Status,
funded by the World Wide Fund - International. The objective of the workshop was to share
the findings of the study, experiences and insights on various approaches/efforts
undertaken by different agencies, discuss critical issues, policy implications and learn
lessons to initiate action in a larger context. Dr. S Manasi coordinated the workshop.

Proposal Writing Workshop on
Environmental Economics

A workshop on
"Proposal Writing Workshop in Environmental Economics" was organised by South
Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) at the Institute in
August 2006. The workshop was designed to bring together South Asian researchers and to
let them develop skill in economic tools and techniques as well as research methods, with
peer level feedback at each stage. Dr. S Madheswaran was the local coordinator of the
programme.

Workshop on Rural-Urban
Disparity in Karnataka

A Two day
workshop on Rural-Urban Disparity in Karnataka was organised at the Institute on July 5
and 6, 2006. The main objective of the workshop was to disseminate the findings of the
study. Prof. V M Rao delivered the inaugural address. About 40 delegates representing the
various universities and NGOs attended the seminar. Prof D Rajasekhar coordinated the
workshop.

National Workshop on Open
Archives Initiative (OAI) and Institutional Repositories with DSPACE

A National Workshop on Open Archives Initiative (OAI)
and Institutional Repositories with DSPACE was jointly organised by the Institute for
Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, and the National Social Science
Documentation Centre (NASSDOC), ICSSR, New Delhi at ISEC campus during June 26-27, 2006.
Twenty-four participants attended the workshop from all over India. Mr T R B Sarma, was
the Workshop Coordinator

Asia Regional Workshop on
Compensation for Ecosystems Services

The Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources
of the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, organised a three-day Asia
Regional Workshop on Compensation for Ecosystems Services during May 8-10, 2006. The Asia
Regional Workshop was conducted as a component of the Global Scoping Study on Compensation
for Ecosystem Services (CES), coordinated by the International Centre for Research
in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya, and commissioned and funded by the International
Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. This workshop was organised in association
with ICRAF. His Excellency Shri T N Chaturvedi, Governor of Kanataka and President of
ISEC, inaugurated the workshop and delivered the keynote address. Thirty-seven
participants from India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Kenya attended the workshop,
representing international and national level organisations, academic bodies, government,
NGOs, and donor agencies. Dr S Puttaswamaiah coordinated the workshop.

Conference on
Macro Economic Policy, Agricultural Development and Rural Institutions

This
Conference was organised jointly by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC),
Bangalore, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, Centre for
Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, Centre for Economic and Social Studies
(CESS), Hyderabad, and Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies in Environment and
Development (CISED), Bangalore. Organised in honour of Professor A Vaidyanathan on his
distinguished academic and policy related services, the conference focused on the themes
on which he had excelled in his contributions to academic thinking in India and abroad.
Distinguished scholars from different parts of the country assembled on this two-day
conference and paid high tributes to his services. The Conference was inaugurated by Dr C
Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

National
Workshop on Rural Infrastructure

A
National Workshop on Rural Infrastructure was organised by the Institute, jointly with the
National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, on 10 th January 2006. This
Joint workshop was organised bringing all the relevant studies carried out by the NCAER
and ISEC for wider dissemination. The participants of the workshop included Shri S L Rao,
members of the Board of Governors, life members, faculty of the Institute, invitees,
academicians from the University and other sister institutions and the administrators.
Prof D Rajasekhar, was the Coordinator of the workshop.

Dissemination Seminar on Karnataka Development Report

After the completion of the Karnataka Development Report, the Institute organised
a one-day seminar on the Report on January 5, 2006. The seminar was inaugurated by Shri P
G R Sindhya, Honourable Minister for Finance, Industry and Infrastructure, Government of
Karnataka.The Seminar was attended by delegates from IIMB, NIAS, CMDR and IAT and line
departments of the Government of Karnataka.

Post
International Symposium and 37th Annual Conference of the Indian Regional Science
Association Training Workshop for Young Regional Scientists

The
International Symposium and 37th Annual Conference of the Indian Regional Science
Association was held at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore during 6 - 8
January, 2006. As a post conference event, the One-day Post International Symposium and
37th Annual Conference of the Indian Regional Science Association Training Workshop for
Young Regional Scientists wasorganised at the Institute for Social and
Economic Change, Bangalore on 9th January 2006 between 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
with the main objective to introduce the young regional scientists to the theme `Regional
Development Trends and Emerging Issues and associated Taxonomical Issues of
Regionalisation'. The training workshop was inaugurated by Professor Gopal K Kadekodi, the
Director of ISEC with a brief introduction to the ISEC and current issues of Regional
development. Professor K R G Nayar, a well-known regional economist from Policy Research
Institute, New Delhi had presented a session on the main theme followed by Dr G S Sastry
on some issues of taxonomies applied in regionalisation. In the afternoon, Dr
Sharachchandra Lele, Coordinator, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and
Development(CISED) presented a session on the GIS based Natural Resources Data Analysis
with special reference to the Western Ghats Region of Karnataka. Later, the participants
were introduced to the ISEC Library for reference work. About 20 participants including
some faculty and students of the Institute had attended the training workshop. Dr G S
Sastry, Assistant Professor, Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources had
coordinated the training workshop.

Rural Infrastructure

A one day workshop in Rural
Infrastructure was organised at Institute on January 10, 2005. The workshop was jointly
organised by National Council of Applied Economic Research
(NCAER), New Delhi & Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC),
Bangalore. The workshop was coordinated by Prof. D Rajasekhar.

Dissemination Seminar on Karnataka
Development Report

After
the completion of the Karnataka Development Report, The Institute organised a one-day
seminar on the Report on January 5, 2006. The seminar was inaugurated by Shri P.G.R
Sindhya, Honourable Minister for Finance, Industry and Infrastructure, Government of
Karnataka.

The
seminar was organised into 5 sessions namely 1) Macro Perspectives and Drives 2) Sectoral
perspectives for Development ) human and Social Concerns 4) Regional Development and
Governance and wound up with the last session "Vision for the Future". The
Seminar was attended by delegates from IIMB, NIAS, CMDR and IAT and Line departments of
Government of Karnataka.

Effectiveness
of Micro-Finance Programmes in Reducing Vulnerability to Debt Bondage in Andhra Pradesh

A one-day national level
workshop on Effectiveness of Micro-Finance Programmes in Reducing Vulnerability to Debt
Bondage in Andhra Pradesh was organised at the Institute on December 23, 2005. The
participants included government officials, representatives from NGOs and Donor agencies,
academicians from Karnataka and other states. Prof D Rajasekhar co-ordinated the workshop.

Block Level
Educational Planning

The Education
Unit of the Institute is organised a two-day workshop for Block Education
Officers of the State on “Block Level Educational Planning”,
on the
6th & 7th of October 2005, at the Institute.
Dr.Rajkumar Khatri, IAS,
State Project Director, Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan Mission (SSA) inaugurated the
programme. The programme was sponsored by the SSA Mission, GoK. Prof.
A S Seetharamu, co-ordinated the workshop.

Lives
at Risk:Vulnerable Daughters in a
Modernizing Society

The Institute
in Collaboration with Lund University, Sweeden, organised a two day workshop on "Lives
at Risk: Vulnerable Daughters in a Modernizing Society", during 28-29
September, 2005. The participants
deliberated on reasons and implications of declining child sex ratios in India with
paper presentations by demographers, sociologists, representatives of NGOs, based on the
research and intervention programmes carried out in different states of India.Sri.
P. Padmanabha, former Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India gave the keynote
address and Prof. P.N. Mari Bhat, Director, International Institute for
Population Sciences, Mumbai, delivered the valedictory address. Dr T V Sekhar was the co-ordinator of the workshop

A
Statistical Accounting of Water Resources

The Ecological
Economics Unit of the Institute organised a two day seminar on "A Statistical
Accounting of Water Resources", on June 24-25, 2005. The Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of
India, New Delhi, sponsored the seminar. The main focus of the seminar was on the problems
in computing statistics related to water sector and to refine the methodologies relating
to statistical accounting of water resources. In addition to the the senior officers of
the CSO, the officials of the Directorates of Economics and Statistics of different states
also participated in the seminar. Dr. G S Sastry and Prof. K V Raju co-ordinated the
seminar.

National
Workshop on Open Source Software for Libraries

A National
Workshop on "Open Source Software for Libraries" was jointly organised by the
Institute and the National Social Science Documentation Centre (NASSDOC), ICSSR, New Delhi
at ISEC on April 4-5, 2005. The workshop was co-ordinated by Sri T R B Sarma, Deputy
Librarian, ISEC.

Development
in Karnataka: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective

The Institute
in collaboration with Cornell University, Ithaca, USA organised a conference on
"Development in Karnataka: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective" from June 10-12,
2005 with the idea of providing a forum where research on a wide range of issues related
to Karnataka could be shared with policy makers, researchers and civil society.
Participants representing a range of social science disciplines came from different parts
of India and also from Norway, Germany, UK and USA

Indian
Polity: Future of Society and Economics

A seminar on Indian
Polity: Future of Society and Economics was held at the Institute on 29-30 April
2005, on the occasion of the Annual General Body Meeting of the Indian Association of
Social Science Institutes.

The purpose of
the seminar was both to delineate multiple aspects of a changing political scenario, and
its immediate and possible effects upon different dimensions of our social and economic
reality. The three sub themes of the seminar were i) State and
Globalization, ii) Politics:
Parties, Coalitions and Ideologies, iii) Civil Society and Social Movements.

The
Institute, in collaboration with the International Institute of Population Studies,
Mumbai, organised a Regional Dissemination seminar on District Level Household Survey
Results in Karnataka under the RCH Programme on April 16, 2005. The Seminar was
inaugurated by De. Gopal k Kadekodi, Director of the Institute. Participants included
among others, representatives from the Government of India, academicians from Universities
and Institutions and Founder/Life Members and faculty, staff and Students of the
Institute. Prof. K N M Raju, Prof. was the co-ordinator of the seminar.

The
participants were academic researchers, teachers in higher educational institutions,
leaders of trade, business and industry, representatives of trade, business and industry
associations, and senior officials and policy makers of the State Government.

Budget
Seminar

A
Seminar was organised at ISEC on March 15, 2005 to discuss the major issues relating to
both the Union and State Budgets. The speakers in the seminar were Sri S L Rao, Prof. G
Thimmaiah, Sri Gurucharan, Dr. Narendra Pani, Prof. Hemlata Rao, Prof. R S Deshpande and
Dr. Ramachandran. Prof. A S Seetharamu, Head Education Unit, welcomed the participants.
The Seminar was co-ordinated by Drs. Meenakshi Rajeev and Devendra Babu, under the
guidance of Prof. Hemlata Rao.

ISEC,
Jointly with the Centre for Budget Policy Studies, and Hope Foundation, organised the Late
Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture on "Globalisation - Why It has a Human Face" by
Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati, a distinguished economist, Columbia University, USA on February
26, 2005 at the auditorium of NIAS, Bangalore.

Micro-Insurance
in India: Can it be Sold Profitably

A One
day workshop on Micro-Insurance in India: Can it be Sold Profitably?, Jointly organised by
the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, German Development Co-operation
(GTZ), Bangalore and Bearing Point, Hyderabad, was held at ISEC on January 28, 2005. The
chief objective of the workshop was to discuss the impediments to profitability faced by
the insurance companies and the solutions to improve profitability. 30 members,
representing the insurance companies both from public and private sector participated in
the meet. Prof. D Rajasekhar co-ordinated the the workshop.

Civil
Service Reforms and E-Governance

A
one-day seminar in collaboration with IIPA-Karnataka Regional Branch, Bangalore, on "
Civil Service Reforms and Initiatives in E-governance in the Southern States' was
organised at the Institute on January 8, 2005. The Seminar was inaugurated by His
Excellency, the Governor of Karnataka, Sri T N Chaturvedi, and it was presided over by Sri
S L Rao, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Institute. The Key note address was delivered
by Sri A N Tiwari, Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India.
Dr. Gopal K Kadekodi, Director ISEC, welcomed the delegates and Sri S Ramanathan, Chairman
IIPA-KRB, Bangalore made the introductory remarks about the seminar. The concluding
remarks were presented by Sri. S Ramanathan and Dr. Gopal K Kadekodi.

Stanford
- India Development Conference - 2004

The Stanford-India Development Conference-2004 was held in Bangalore on
December 21, 2004, co-hosted by Infosys Technologies
Limited, The Stanford University’s Stanford Center for International
Development (SCID) and with financial support from The
Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) at Infosys Campus.

The focus of the Conferences was on presenting an overview and assessment of
India’s economic reforms, performance of power sector, changes in governance
and institutions in reform era, and reforms in education and evaluation of
education system.

The
distinguished speakers of the Conference were Professor T.N. Srinivasan on
assessment of India’s economic progress, Sri N.K. Singh on reforms in governance and institutions
in the reform process, Professor Roger Noll on power sector reforms, and Professors
Naushad Forbes, Anjini Kochar and A.S. Seetharamu on evaluation of education system.

The participants of the Conference were senior bureaucrats in the
Government of Karnataka, distinguished academicians from reputed institutes and
universities, and prominent members of civil society and business community.

Conference on
Biotechnology and India's Development

ISEC
in association with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi and
supported by the Indo Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development (IDPAD), Netherlands,
organised a Conference on Biotechnology and India's Development in
Bangalore from November 22nd to 24th , 2004. The purpose of this
conference was to understand and explore the full potential of the biotechnology sector in
bringing about economic and social transformation and also accelerate economic growth in
the coming decades. The participants of the conference were from all over India and a few
from abroad and included policy makers, economists, scientists and industrialists.

Course on Survey
Methods for Environmental Economists
and 9th Biannual Research and Training Workshop

The
Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), The World Conservation Union (IUCN),
Nepal’s regional program, and the South Asian Network for Development and
Environmental Economics (SANDEE) jointly organised a Training course and the regular
Bi-annual research workshops from October 30 to November 9, 2004 at Bangalore. The purpose
of these annual activities from SANDEE is to seek the use of economic tools
and analyses to address some of South Asia’s environmental challenges.

About
30 international participants attended these events. Prof. Madhav Gadgil delivered a
special lecture on this occasion. Among many others, Professors Partha Dasgupta, Karl
Goran-Maler and Jeffrey Vincent participated as resource persons.

IT,
E-governance and Rural Development

The
Institute organised a half-day discussion on May 28, 2004, on the theme IT, E-governance
and Rural Development.There was also a video-conference with Dr. Devi Shetty of the
Narayana Hrudayalaya. BSNL Bangalore facilitated the video-conference between ISEC and
Narayana Hrudayalaya. Prof. G K Kadekodi welcomed the guests and Shri S L Rao chaired and
moderated the discussions. Prof. G.K. Karanth co-ordinated the event.

Feed
and Fodder Development under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes in Karnataka

A
workshop on Evaluation Study of Feed and Fodder Development under the Centrally Sponsored
Schemes in Karnataka was arranged on March 19, 2004, to discuss the results of the project
sponsored by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Government of
Karnataka, with the satkeholders. Shri Raju Premkumar, Principal Secretary, Department of
Animal Husbandry and Fisherues was the Chief Guest.Director of AH&F, Assisstant
Secretaries, Joint Directors as well as Deputy Directors from all the 11 State Livestock
Breeding Centres and Officials from Planning Department, GOK attended the workshop.

40th
Annual Conference of the Indian Econometric Society

The
40th Indian Econometrics Conference was held during February 13-15, 2004 at ISEC. The
conference was presided over by Professor B.B. Bhattacharya, Director of Institute for
Economic Growth, New Delhi. The Honorable Minister for Information and Technology,
Government of Karnataka, Shri D.B.Inamdar, inaugurated the conference. Prof.S.R.Hashim,
Member, UPSC, delivered the valedictory lecture on "Use of Quantitative Methods in
Economic Policy in India".

There
were special sessions featuring distinguished speakers on topics of current interest.
Other sessions with contributed papers by the young and old members of the society dealing
with applications of econometric methods to different sub-fields of economics

Prof.
Gopal K Kadekodi was the chairman of the local organising committee; Dr. S Madheswaran was
the local organising secretary.

Regional
Workshop on Capacity Building for Budgetary Analysis at the State Level

In
Collaboration with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, the
Institute organised a Regional Workshop on Capacity Building for Budgetary
Analysis at the State Level during November 25-28, 2003. Most of the participants
were journalists from southern states of the country. Dr. Tapas Sen, Senior Fellow, NIPFP
and Shri H N Ranganathan, Registrar, ISEC, were the coordinators of the workshop.

Workshop
on Alternatives to Rural Water Supply in Karnataka

The
Ecological Economics Unit, with the support of IWMI-Tata Program, organised a workshop on
"Alternatives to Rural Water Supply in Karnataka" on July 22, 2003 at ISEC. Its
main focus was to provide a platform for discussion among experts in rural water supply
issues. Representatives of various organisations including, government, non-government and
corporate sector participated in the workshop. The workshop provided valuable insights
into different dimensions of the problem. The workshop, which was part of the Rural
Drinking Water Project, was coordinated by Prof. K V Raju and Dr. S Mansi.

Seminar
on Lokayukta and Good Governance in Karnataka

A Seminar on
"Lokayukta and Good Governance in Karnataka" was held at ISEC
on June 28, 2003. The objective of the seminar, organised jointly by IIPA-Karnataka
Regional Branch, Bangalore and ISEC, was to discuss the strengths and limitations of the
Lokayukta institution for the promotion of good governance from the judicial, political,
administrative, media, NGO's and citizens perspectives. The seminar had 3 technical
sessions: 1) Good governance Initiatives and Pro-active Role of Lokayukta in Karnataka, 2)
Lokayukta, Common Man and Service Delivery and 3) Corruption at Higher Levels and How to
Make Lokayukta Institution Effective in Promoting Good Governance. The seminar was
coordinated by Dr. S.N. Sangtia and Dr. N Sivanna.

Workshop
on Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment

The workshop on
Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment was organised by the Centre of Excellence in
Environmental Economics, Madras School of Economics, in collaboration with ISEC at the
Institute during June 2-4, 2003. The workshop was organised for the officers of the
Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Central Pollution Control Board, Government
of India. Its main objective was to provide a conceptual and methodological overview on
cost benefit analysis. The workshop was coordinated by Dr. G S Sastry.

Second
Development Convention of the Southern Region of ICSSR Institutions

The second
Development Convention of the Southern Region ICSSR Institutions was held at ISEC during
February 19-21, 2003. The theme of the convention was "Social Sector Development:
Present Status and Future Challenges". Seventeen papers were presented in the four
technical sessions focusing on State and Social Sector Development, Education, Health and
Decentralised Governance. Prof. G K Karanth coordinated the convention. The convention was
sponsored by Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai.

Following the
successful completion of the Second Development Convention, representatives and directors
of the participating institutions, faculty of ISEC and also Prof. V R Panchamukhi,
Chairman, ICSSR participated in a Round Table. The focal theme was "Doing Social
Science Research".

A State Level
Workshop on "Empowering Panchayat Members on Health Issues through Electronic
Media" was organised on January 24, 2003, at ISEC to discuss the project outcome and
lessons learnt from an innovative action project implemented by ISEC recently. Dr. T.V.
Sekher coordinated the workshop.

Workshop
on Environmental Economics for Ph.D Scholars

The Ecological
Economics unit of ISEC organised a national-level Workshop on Environmental Economics for
Ph.D Scholars during December 9-13, 2002. The Programme was supported by the World
Bank-aided India: Environmental Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project
of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The objective of
the workshop was to impart training in theoretical and applied issues in environmental and
resource economics to Ph.D Scholars working in this field. The Programme was coordinated
by Dr. G S Sastry.

Seminar
on "The State of Karnataka's Public Services: Benchmark for the New Millennium"

The
Institute in collaboration with the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bangalore, organised a
seminar on October 19, 2002 on the report "The State of Karnataka's Public Services:
Benchmark for the New Millennium".

Workshop
on "Common Pool Resources and Institutions"

The Institute
organised a workshop on "Common Pool Resources and Institutions" in
collaboration with Lund University, CARIKS, Mysore, during August 27-29, 2002. The
participants included faculty of the Institute, academicians, and administrators. Dr.
Neelambar Hatti, of Lund University and Prof. R S Deshpande, of the Institute were the
co-ordinators.

Evaluating
Poverty Reduction and Progress Towards the Millennium Development Goals

ISEC and the
Operations Evaluation Department (OED) of the World Bank co-hosted a workshop on
"Evaluating Poverty Reduction and Progress Towards the Millennium Development
Goals" on June 26-27, 2002 at ISEC.

Orientation
Workshop for NGOs

A two day
Orientation Workshop was organised at ISEC on May 9 and 10, 2002, to familiarise the NGOs
on various RCH components and also to discuss the implementation of the project. It was
coordinated by Dr. T V Sekher.

Private-Public
Mix in Health Development: Lessons from Canadian Experiences

The second
Symposium on "Private-Public Mix in Health Development: Lessons from Canadian
Experiences", sponsored by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute in New Delhi was held
at the Institute during March 27-29, 2002. It was coordinated by Dr.
Maathai K. Mathiyazhagan.

Decentralisation and
Development: Thrust Research Areas, Dissemination and Capacity Building

A Workshop on
"Decentralisation and Development: Thrust Research Areas, Dissemination and Capacity
Building" was held at the Institute on 26th March, 2002, to seek the guidance on
thrust areas of research for the centre, capacity-building activities, and ways and means
of disseminating the research findings. It was coordinated by Dr. D. Rajashekar and Dr. N
Sivanna.

Electoral Reforms

A workshop on
Electoral Reforms was held at the Institute in Collaboration with the "Lok
Satta", Hyderabad on 14th March, 2002. The prime objective of the workshop was to
generate public opinion for Electoral Reforms. It was coordinated by Dr. N. Sivanna and
Dr. Madhushree Sekher.

Role of Women's Studies in
Recasting Academic Disciplines

On the
occasion of Women's Day (March 8), the CISED and ISEC organised a seminar on the
"Role of Women's Studies in Recasting Academic Disciplines".

"State of the Indian
Farmer: A millennium Study"

A Review
Seminar on "State of the Indian Farmer: A millennium Study" was organised
by Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Unit, ISEC on January 30-31, 2002.

Seminar on Life and Works of
Prof. V.K.R.V Rao

A Seminar on
Life and Works of Prof. V.K.R.V Rao was held on December 27, 2001. Eminent social
scientists, faculty and staff of ISEC, and members of Prof. Rao's family attended the
programme. On the occasion, the book Partial Memories of Prof. V.K.R.V Rao (edited
by Mr. S.L. Rao) was released by Dr. Manmohan Singh, former Finance Minister, Government
of India.

43rd Annual Conference of the
Indian Society of Labour Economics

The 43rd
Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics was held at the Institute during December 18–20, 2001. Mr. Veerappa
Moily, former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Chairman of the Tax Reforms Commission of
Karnataka, inaugurated the conference and delivered the inaugural address.

Regional Round Table on
Information and Communications Technology

A Regional
Round Table on Information and Communications Technology, was held at Hotel Taj West End,
Bangalore, on August 28, 2001. It was
organized by the Institute in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, Manila,
Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India, and the Department of Information
Technology, Government of Karnataka.

Exposure of Foreign Trade and
WTO to Tobacco Farmers

A Workshop was
organised on "Exposure of Foreign Trade and WTO to Tobacco Farmers" on
August 24 and 25, 2001 at ISEC.

Environmental and Social
Assessment of Community-based Rehabilitation of Minor Irrigation Tanks in Karnataka

A Seminar was organised on
"Environmental and Social Assessment of Community-based Rehabilitation of
Minor Irrigation Tanks in Karnataka,’ on July 17, 2001, at ISEC.

Public Finance in Indian
States: The Emerging Scenario

At the request of the
Karnataka Tax Reforms Commission, a seminar was organized on ‘Public Finance
in Indian States: The Emerging Scenario’ on July 11–12, 2001 at Hotel
Capitol. A number of public finance specialists from all over the country
attended the seminar.

Rural
Decentralisation in Karnataka: Status, Best Practices and Strategy

A workshop on
"Rural Decentralisation in Karnataka: Status, Best Practices and Strategy" was
organised at the Institute during May 31-June 1, 2001. The workshop was organised jointly
by ISEC, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and the World Bank.
Participants were political executives of Panchayats and officers from the State and Local
Government, experts from the World Bank, Ford Foundation and other donors, and members of
ISEC faculty. It was coordinated by Dr D Rajasekhar and Dr N Sivanna.

Union
Budget and Karnataka State Budget

A half-day
seminar on "Union Budget and Karnataka State Budget" was held at the Institute
on March 28, 2001. Participants were Secretaries of various Government departments,
representatives of FKCCI and other organisations and distinguished academicians. It was
coordinated by Prof. Hemlata Rao.

Volume
and Composition of Subsidies in Karnataka

A Seminar on
"Volume and Composition of Subsidies in Karnataka" was held at the Institute on
March 7, 2001. Participants were Secretaries of various Government departments and
distinguished academicians. It was coordinated by Dr. K Gayithri.

Poverty
and Human Development Monitoring System

A Workshop on
"Poverty and Human Development Monitoring System" was held at the Institute on
February 2 and 3, 2001, at the request of Planning Department, Government of Karnataka.

Power,
Patronage and Accountability in the Panchayats of Karnataka; Democratic Decentralisation
and Participation of Women : A Case study of Karnataka

A joint
workshop on "Power, Patronage and Accountability in the Panchayats of Karnataka;
Democratic Decentralisation and Participation of Women : A Case study of Karnataka"
was held at the Institute on January 19, 2001.